


Painted Rose

by wulfpyre



Category: RWBY
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/F, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Out of Character, Previous Manipulative Relationship, Smoking, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-04-03 22:17:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14006007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wulfpyre/pseuds/wulfpyre
Summary: Ruby Rose is one of Remnants most well-known artists. One night at an event, she bumps into the Schnee heiress at a dinner event who will change her life.





	1. Voice of an Angel

**Author's Note:**

> I gotta work on a better summary, but other than that I hope you guys enjoy this story. This one may not be as long as Hell's Angel but I will not be too short either (: Also, Ruby will be a bit out of character for this story.

Ruby Rose had been minding her own business at the dessert table, eating away at the chocolate dipped strawberries and the other bite-sized treats.

Everything was just fine at the charity she was invited to attend until there was a voice behind her scolding her.

“And what exactly do you think you’re doing? Your uniform is wrinkled and those are clearly not slacks? Those treats are for attendees only.”

The voice behind her says. Ruby quickly chews the strawberry in her mouth before turning around to see a girl at about her same height, well in heels anyways, with long white hair in a pony tail and an elegant blue dress.

Ruby looked down at what she’s wearing, a red button up shirt that is slightly wrinkled around the bottom, it was not tucked in properly and a pair of black jeans with some tears on one knee. Realizing she stands out more than she initially thought, she looks at the other well-dressed individuals at the charity.

 “Well?” The white-haired girl asked, clearly looking annoyed at the lack of a response.

Ruby sets down her plate of pastries and reaches into her back pocket and pulled out her invitation and shows it to the girl, “I was invited here, I am representing The Rose of Remnant.”

The other girl took the folded paper from Ruby and looked at it.

Her brow furrows, clearly not believing the redhead, “You probably stole this or something, I’m going to call secu-“

“Ah Weiss, I see you have met the guest of honor for tonight.” Both of their attentions were pulled towards the male voice that spoke up. A tall man with white hair in a white suit approaches the two and stands beside Weiss. “Hello to see you again Miss Ro-.”

“Brawnwen, Ruby Brawnwen.” She said with her eyes narrowed at the older gentleman.

Weiss’s cheeks flush red with embarrassment as she looked at Ruby, then the invitation since her father just confirmed the red-head girl in front was actually invited to tonight’s event, and was the representative of The Rose of Remnant no less.

The Rose of Remnant was a well-known artist and very rarely sold her art, much like her mother had. Most of the art that was purchased from her by galleries were auctioned off to other galleries which she disliked, but the very few that sold her art for fundraisers would be the galleries she is happy to work with. The proceedings of the art piece being show-cased and auctioned tonight would all being going to a children’s hospital.

Ruby furrowed her brows and spoke in a mock tone, “Hello Mr. Schnee, nice to see you as always.”

“Hello to you too, Miss Rose. This is my daughter, Weiss Schnee.” He put his hand out to shake Ruby’s.

Ruby sighed as wiped her hand on her jeans before reaching out to shake his hand, already wanting to leave even though she had arrived not too long ago.

She did not like being called by her actual last name in public to avoid any attention towards her, but she knew the man in front of her was doing this on purpose.

“You should join our table for when dinner is served, we are seated near the stage. My daughter will be singing tonight as well.”

“That’s cool Jacques, but I’m not really staying long.” Ruby said quickly, not wanting to be anywhere near Jacques tonight.

Jacques brows furrowed for a brief moment and he stood up straighter, momentarily showing his displeasure at being told no. But he quickly smiled and spoke in a tone that clearly showed he wasn’t take no for an answer.

Jacques is not going to take no for an answer, “Oh, but I insist Miss Rose. You must hear my daughter sing before you leave Come.”

Jacques motioned for Ruby to follow. Ruby internally sighed and followed Weiss’s father to their table, grabbing her plate of pastries and resumed eating a chocolate covered strawberry.

Weiss walked quickly to Ruby and handed her back her invitation and avoided looking at the artist. Ruby folded the invitation and slips it back into her pocket and takes a seat at the large table reserved for the Schnee family.

“Weiss, you should start getting to the stage and get ready to sing.” Her father said and Weiss just nods her head and walks off towards the stage. Ruby takes a seat a few chairs away from Jacques. Not long after taking her seat dinner is being brought out to all the guests. “

My daughter is a phenomenal singer, we are always asked to attend these sorts of events because of her talents. I believe this will be the first time you get to see her perform, I am delighted that you were able to stay tonight Miss Rose.”

“Brawnwen.” Ruby muttered under her breath, growing increasingly annoyed at the other man.

There weren’t many people that recognized her at these sorts of events and Ruby would do her best to say that she wasn’t actually the “Rose of Remnant”, rather just her representative.

But the few that did recognize her, like Jacques, would try to impress her or get her attention in an attempt to get her to sell them an art piece of hers.

A lot of her art was displayed in the local gallery owned by a family friend. Anytime there was a request to purchase her art, Ozpin would send those requests straight to Ruby.

Ruby was pulled from her thoughts momentarily as the host of the charity is introducing tonight’s special performer, which was Weiss.

_Wow she’s gorgeous_

Ruby turned her head slightly to see Weiss’s father get a straight face as he stares at his daughter. She turns her attention back to the stage where the spotlight is now focused on Weiss and the lights have been dimmed.

_Holy shit!_

_Her dress is sparkling too._

Weiss takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, her lips slowly parting as she begins to sing.

_‘Mirror, tell me something,_

_Tell me who’s the loneliest of all?’_

Ruby is surprised by the angelic tone in which Weiss is singing. She pays attention the whole time that Weiss is singing, leaning forward in her seat slightly. She wonders if this is as close as a Siren as she’ll ever be. Ruby was just drawn into the angelic voice on stage and did not hide the fact she was staring directly at Weiss’s face.

_‘Mirror, mirror, what’s behind you?_

_Save me from the things I see!_

_I can keep it from the world,_

_Why won’t you let me hide from me?’_

As Weiss finished her song, everyone applauded, except Weiss’s father who maintained a smug look on his face, and the host grabbed a microphone and tells everyone to enjoy the rest of dinner and the event as well. Weiss walks off the stage and takes a seat at the table, Ruby tries to subtly change seats to sit next to Wiess.

“That was like… super duper cool. You’re a great singer.” Ruby complimented Weiss with what she hoped is cute smile.

Weiss seemed surprised at the compliment, “Um, Thanks.” Weiss returned the smile.

Before either of them can say anything, Weiss’s father interjected, “My daughter had all the best instructors for her vocal lessons. I made sure she learned from the best of the best to make the Schnee company proud.”

Weiss’s smile quickly falters as her father begins to brag about his daughters accomplishes were all thanks to his money.

Before he can say too much Ruby spoke up, “Sorry Jacques, but I should really be going. I have other plans for tonight,” Ruby stands up and waves him off and turns to Weiss, “Um, hope to see you around again. Goodnight.” Ruby started to walk away towards the exit and before she leaves, she took a quick glance back to see Weiss.

* * *

 

 

“Yes father, I understand.” Weiss hangs her head down as she slowly picks at her food and says nothing else for the rest of the night.

Ruby drove herself home in Patch and upon entering she finds her sisters girlfriend in the kitchen with a glass of milk. She’s wearing one of Yang’s shirts and a pair of flannel shorts. Yang and Blake have been dating for over three years now and lately Blake had been sleeping over more than lately, but it didn’t bug Ruby since her and Blake got along pretty well.

It was crazy for Ruby to imagine a time that Yang wasn’t always curled up with Blake or in the same vicinity as her.

“Oh, Ruby. You’re home later than usual. Did the event start late?” Blake takes a sip of her warm milk.

Ruby runs a hand through her hair as she leaves her keys in a bowl near the door, “Sort of but... I decided to stay a while longer. Where’s Yang?”

“She ran to get take out for dinner.” As Blake says this Ruby realizes she promised to bring take out for dinner right after leaving the event since she was supposed to be back like an hour ago.

Ruby face palms, “Shoot, I forgot about that and even worse I was at the event longer than expected.”

“She didn’t seem to mind,” Blake reaches up to scratch the back of one of her cat ears, “She’ll be back any minute. So, what happened at the dinner that made you want to stay?”

Ruby tried to hide the blush coming to her cheeks, “Uh, someone thought I snuck in because of how I was dressed. So, they were about to call security but the girl’s father showed up and recognized me and kind of strong armed me into staying at his table. I think he was from like the Schnee company or something?”

At the mention of the Schnee company Blake’s face scowls, “I don’t like the Schnee company too much.”

“Is it… because of how they treat Faunus and stuff?” Ruby asks curiously.

Blake nods her head, “Not just that, but their business practices are always so shady and only benefit the company. Their mistreatment of Faunus is not as bad as it used to be in the past but it is still there.”

Before Ruby can say anything else the front door swings open and a tall blonde woman enters the house with two big bags of Chinese take-out, “I’m home kitty cat! Oh, hey Rubes. You were kinda lagging on food so I went out to get some. But hey! I brought you some of chow mein.” She walks over to the kitchen giving her girlfriend a quick kiss on the lips before setting down the two bags on the kitchen table.

“Yeah, sorry sis. Stuck at the dinner thing.” Ruby says as she helps her sister take out the Chinese take-out. “Imma head to my room. Kinda tired, night Yang. Night Blake.” She grabs one of the take-out Styrofoam boxes with noodles and heads to her room upstairs.

Yang tells her baby sister goodnight. Ruby enters her room and looks around a bit.

_And now I can finally be alone._

Ruby’s room is slightly messy with clothes thrown around the floor and various sketches stuck to walls and all spread along her desk. She hopped onto her bed and starts to eat. Ruby sees a little ball of black and white fur pass by her door.

She smiled and whistled quickly, “Zwei, come here Zwei.” Her dog perks up his ears and runs into Ruby’s room and makes a valiant effort to hop onto her bed. Ruby sets down her fork to help pull Zwei onto her bed and pets him quickly.

“Who’s a good boy?” Ruby says this as she scratches the top of Zwei’s head. In response to the question, Zwei barks and wags his tail. Ruby keeps Zwei on her bed while she eats her dinner before throwing her trash away in her bin and changing into her sleep wear. She gets under her sheets, letting Zwei sleep on her bed. “Goodnight Zwei.”

The corgi responds with a soft bark and lays on his side next to Ruby. She reaches out to gently scratch Zwei’s back before slowly drifting to sleep thinking about how likely it will be to see Weiss again. The odds of that are probably very slim but Ruby thought maybe her luck would pay off and she’d have a chance to run into Weiss again to hear her singing.

Ruby sighed and rolls onto her side and decides to sleep rather than to keep herself awake on something so small.


	2. Midnight

‘The Schnee Dust Company is hosting a dinner on October 18th and we have invited you to the to be one of our special guests attending. Please confirm or deny your attendance with the holoscreen invitation provided to you.’

_Leave it to the Schnee Company to send a holoscreen invitation._

It’s been a few weeks since the last event Ruby attended, and she is on her bed reading the holoscreen invitation over and over, deciding if she should go to the event or not.

It would be nice to see that girl sing again, maybe actually talk to her. But Ruby was not fond of being invited to events last minute. Even though she didn’t not have many plans, or any at all. She spent most of her time lounging at home, occasionally working on an art piece.

Other than that she would stop by to see Ozpin, to see if he needed help with his museum. But still, the event was tomorrow and that would mean she would have to wash her nice clothes for the event.

She looks at the corner of her room to see a pile of laundry that still needed to be done. And at the top of that pile is her red dress shirt, and she can see the sleeve of her black dress shirt hanging out form the pile as well. Ruby sighs annoyed and looks at her closet knowing she has one other option of formal clothing.

_The dress Yang gave me for my birthday is still in there._

The dress is not what bothers Ruby, it’s those damn lady stilts. Ruby falls back on her bed and lets out a frustrated noise. She decides to press ‘accept’ on the invitation and to get out of bed to get breakfast, even though it is the middle of the afternoon. Heading downstairs, Ruby goes to the kitchen to fix herself some cereal. She sees a note on the fridge and reads it to herself.

‘Taking Blake out tonight, will be home late. Remember to feed Zwei in the afternoon and the night. Don’t forget to feed yourself too.’

Ruby rolled her eyes with a smile as she takes another bite of her cereal. While eating her own breakfast, she goes to the cupboard with Zwei’s food and fills his bowl with food and water.

After finishing her breakfast, Ruby heads upstairs and changes into her workout clothes and goes for a run, bringing Zwei with her. She follows a trail that starts at the back of house that leads into the forest and runs for some time. She finds somewhere to sit under a tree and just relaxes for a while, Zwei resting his head on Ruby’s lap.

“Lazy little butt.” Ruby says with a smile and pets her dogs head, “Let’s head back yeah?” Zwei barks in response and after sitting down for a while longer they jog their way back to the house.

Ruby spends what is left of her afternoon just reading her emails, organizing her art materials and cooking herself some dinner before she has to actually start getting ready.

When it is time to get herself ready, she goes to her closet after taking a shower and searches for the dress her sister gifted to her last year.

_It should still be in its box somewhere here._

She finds the box and opens it, seeing the dress and the high heels causes her to frown.

_Stupid lady stilts._

Ruby sighs and takes changes into the dress and struggles for a few minutes to put on the high heels and practices walking around in her room. It takes a few minutes and some falling before Ruby gets use to the heels without looking like a penguin.

Once she adjusted to the heels, she walked to her drawer and starts putting back the earring cuffs in her left ear and starts to apply some light make-up, wanting to make her silver eyes stand out more.

_Ugh why is putting eye liner so difficult. Should I take my bike or the car?_

_Wait, I’m in a dress so I should take the car._

_Sorry Crescent Rose, not tonight._

Before leaving, she heads downstairs to leave food for Zwei who is currently laying down on his bed chewing at a bone. “I’ll see you later Zwei, don’t have too much fun while you’re alone.”

She laughed a bit and reached down to pet his head and he wags his tail in response. Ruby gets her car keys and heads outside to her car and drives herself to where the dinner is being held in Vale, which takes her about an hour to get there.

Lucky for her there was not much traffic and when she arrives at the banquet hall, she presents her invitation to the valet to take her car and park it. As she is entering the banquet hall she could have sworn she heard one of the valet speak into his ear piece about a special guest who just arrived and this makes Ruby curious who that guest is.

_Is it me? Is this some dinner to try to get me to sell my art to the Schnee company?_

Ruby sighed and decided she was going to go to the desert table, get some deserts and leave, not really wanted to stay at the event anymore.

As she approached the table she grabs herself a plate and starts to stack cookies on it and brownies. Before she stacks herself some chocolate dipped strawberries a familiar voice catches her attention.

“Thank you for coming.”

Ruby turns around to see that Weiss is standing behind her in a elegant blue dress, “Oh, um… yeah. I um… looked forward to tonight. You look really nice.” Ruby felt her cheeks burn up at the compliment she just blurted out.

“Thank you, it’s an old dress.” Weiss shrugs as she takes a step forward to be standing beside Ruby, “Isn’t eating these many sweets bad for you?”

Ruby chuckled, “Probably, but plenty of things have been bad for my health but hasn’t stopped me before.”

The two just stare at each other quietly. Ruby doing her best to discreetly check out Weiss from the corner of her eyes, admiring the “old dress”. Sinking into her thoughts, Ruby doesn’t notice that Weiss is talking to her until she is prompted with a question.

“Well?”

Ruby blinks a few times to regain her focus, “Sorry what?”

“I asked if you’re going to just stand at the desert table all night?” Weiss says, a mild look of annoyance because she had to repeat herself.

Ruby quickly figured out that Jacques likely sent his daughter to befriend her, which further soured Ruby’s mood.

With the look on Weiss’s face, she figured the heiress didn’t want to actually befriend her. Wanting to get rid of the other girl she sighed and resumed her mission on filling her plate with sweets, “Sort of, I wasn’t planning on really sticking around. I’m guessing your father just wants to use me to improve your company image.” Ruby says blatantly, “No offence to you.”

“Excuse me?” Weiss let out a nervous laugh that clearly sounds practiced, “I don’t know what you mean by that.”

Ruby sighed, “Weiss, you don’t have to lie. I know why your father invited me. I know why you’re here too.”

Weiss’s jaw drops slightly as she stares at Ruby. Likely surprised that Ruby knew why her father invited her.

Weiss scrambled for a response but chose her next words poorly, “So then what? You only came to eat free food?!”

“No no no no. I didn’t mean tha-“

“Well what did you mean then?” Weiss said as she crossed her arms.

Ruby sighs and thinks to herself quickly.

_This is like high school all over again._

“When you’re only wanted for your talents, you’re not actually wanted. I’m tired of being used, of not being seen as a person. I’m sick of it, I would’ve thought you would have understood that, with how your father does the same to you. It’s probably why you’re here talking to me right now.” Ruby says as she grabs her plate and walks past Weiss deciding to head out to the garden at the back of the banquet hall.

Weiss stood there in shock, knowing what Ruby said was true but she didn’t want to believe it.

Ruby got outside and walked found somewhere to sit. She reached into her jacket and pulled out her cigarettes.

Ruby scrambled to pull out her lighter and when she lit her cigarette, she inhaled slowly and felt her nerves relax.

_Fuck, how am I supposed to talk to her now._

She stayed outside, contemplating on leaving the event and just heading home to sleep, having killed her chances of getting to know Weiss.

She could just head home and watch movies with her dog Zwei. That would definitely be much better than being here.

Ruby heard the sound of heels approaching and she guessed that it was someone coming to tell her it was a non-smoking area.

She quickly rubs her eyes and throws something to the floor, “Fuck me.”

She turned her head to see who it was standing behind her. Ruby clenched her fists as she saw that it was Weiss, her nose scrunched up likely because of the nicotine.

“What are you doing here?” Weiss asked quickly.

Ruby cleared her throat and turns herself completely to face Weiss, “Nothing.”

Ruby quickly shoved her pack of cigarettes into her jacket.

“You were smoking, weren’t you?” Weiss says accusingly. “Smoking is bad for you, you know?”

“We went over this already, there are a lot of other things bad for my health. This… just happens to be the worst one.” Ruby’s voice quiets down as she finishes talking. She stands up and sighs, “Why are you here?”

Weiss responds defensively, “I asked you first.”

“What are you like five?” Ruby raised an eyebrow, “Whatever, I was out here smoking. I don’t really do big crowds, they make me anxious sometimes. Also, I felt shitty about what I said to you. ‘Bout the whole ‘being used’ thing. I’m sorry about that.”

Weiss stared at the red-head in front of her and lets a small silence stand between them both before she speaks, “You’re right. About my father I mean. He… he told me to be friends with you so that it would make the company look good. And if you already knew about that, then why are you still here?”

“I uh, wanted to…” Ruby swung back and forth from her heels to her toes as she speaks, “um… wanted to like see you again. It sounds super stupid but you sound so amazing when you sang and so cool. And you’re very beautiful.”

Ruby continued to blabber on as Weiss stared at her. The other girls’ cheeks flushing red at the compliment.

“You came here tonight… for me?”

Ruby simply nodded her head in response, “Just for you…”

“Are you… into gir…. Are you ga…”

Ruby sighs knowing what Weiss was going to ask, “Gay? Yes, I’m gay.”

Weiss stared at Ruby quietly unsure what to say.

The silence that was now present between them was killing Ruby so she sighed, “Whatever, I made a mistake coming tonight.” Ruby walks past the heiress and leaves deciding to just end her night here and go home so sleep.

Weiss just stands there surprised, unsure what to say or do.

Ruby walked to the exit of the hall and turned her head to get one last look at the other girl, seeing her still standing in the garden. She sighed to herself and resumed walking.

_It was a mistake coming tonight._

way and left.


	3. Reverse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, sorry for the long delay. I've been working hard to get this chapters well done and working with my best friend/editor on getting this story to be its best. Hopefully you all enjoy. Happy reading!

Ruby was at the art museum where she worked with Ozpin, her mentor and mother’s mentor as well. She was in her office just sorting through various paperwork about donors and sponsors that would like to partner with Ozpin’s art museum. As she sorted through the different papers she also did research into the companies to see what the company or individuals were like before passing these on to Ozpin to meet with.

Most of Remnant did not know what Ruby actually looked like, and she preferred it that way. Much like her own mother. Ozpin works as a sort of manager for Ruby, attending various meetings and charities in her honor to keep her identity a secret. Oz would also be the one meeting with possible buyers for Ruby’s art, then Ruby would overlook the notes Ozpin would bring her. Ruby dreads the idea of people recognizing her in public as the talented artist that all of Remnant seeks out to partner with.

Ruby sighs and leans back into her chair, her eyes sore from going back and forth from paper to computer screen. She locks her fingers together and rests her hands on her chest as she looks up at the clock in her office.

_6:38 PM_

_I should get home. Let me say goodnight to Ozpin though, he should be back from his meeting._

Ruby saves the tabs on her computer before shutting it off and files away the papers. As she does so her door opens and standing there is Ozpin.

“Ah, Miss Rose. It appears I caught you just in time.” Ozpin says, with a cup a coffee in his hand, looking calm and mellow as ever.

Ruby gets her messenger bag and puts some papers inside before shouldering her bag, “Yeah I was just on my way out. I went through the sponsor list you sent me and I crossed some off the list, I’m going to look at it more at home.”

“Oh nonsense Miss Rose, no need to take your work home. Take the weekend off, we’ve been back and forth from meetings all this week and sorting through mountains of papers and emails. I insist.” Ozpin takes a sip of his coffee.

Ruby looks at her bag then at Ozpin, “I mean, if you insist.” She giggles and drops the bag and scoots it under her desk, “Alright I’ll look it over on Monday. Oh, that reminds me. I have a new piece that will be done soon.”

“I can’t wait,” He says with a calm smile. Ruby has her own art studio in the basement of the Museum that only her and Ozpin have a key to. In the basement, Ruby will occasionally go down there to paint and if she feels confident the piece is done, she will present it to Ozpin who will showcase it upstairs. Ruby both loved and dreaded showcasing her art because it meant that she was because she had the opportunity to show off her artistic ability and keep Ozpin’s museum running, but that also meant other companies and galleries would want to try to make deals about purchasing her art.

That meant more emails, letters and meetings for Ruby to attend. Ruby grabs her helmet from the corner of her room and her jacket, “Goodnight Ozpin.”

Ozpin takes another sip of his coffee and speaks as Ruby collects her items, “You have a guest by the way Miss Rose, she’s waiting out on the floor.”

“Someone is waiting for me?” Ruby asks curiously, “Who?”

“You should see for yourself.” He says with a smile and leaves her office. Ruby raises her eyebrow as she leaves her office, locking it behind her and walks out to the art floor. She gets there and stops mid-step when she sees a familiar white fluff of hair staring at an art piece. She hadn’t seen Weiss since the dinner about a week ago.

_What is Weiss doing here? I’m surprised her father didn’t send her any earlier. Whatever, let’s see what she wants._

Ruby approaches the heiress and taps her shoulder, “Can I help you?”

Weiss was surprised by the sudden shoulder tap and turns around to look at Ruby. She stares at her with a stoic expression for a few seconds and Ruby is about to say something about the silence but Weiss blurts out, “I want you to ask me out onto a date?”

“Say what now?” Ruby feels her face flush red.

“Ugh,” Weiss rolls her eyes before speaking louder, “I said I want you to ask me out onto a-“

“I heard you the first time. I’m just… trying to process it. Why do you want to go on a date? Did your dad tell you to say that? I already said I don’t want to partner with the Schnee company.” Ruby asks as she taps the helmet in her hands on her hip.

Weiss furrows her brows at the mention of her father, “No you dunce, my father isn’t why I’m here. I don’t care about that…. You know what forget it. This was stupid.” Weiss turns on heel ready to leave.

“Then why are you here. If this isn’t about my art, why are you here?” Ruby blurts out curiously.

Weiss stops and she crosses her arms, “Because I want… to disappoint my father.” She pauses and takes Ruby’s silence as a cue to continue, “My father has never particularly had an interest in my love life aside from trying to press the occasional suitor. However, with you… I think we can make a deal.” Slowly turning around, she starts to walk to Ruby. Her heels clicking against the floor and echoing loudly in the art museum.

“A deal? What kind of deal?”

“You said yourself you thought I was pretty, and I can happily say the same to you.” As that final words leave her mouth, Weiss quickly clears her throat, “Pretty. I mean that you are pretty as well.”

_Did… did she just call me pretty?_

“What I want is for us to become a couple, before you decline it, hear me out. You clearly like to engage in acts that no… normal person would be a part of. I would like to experience that for myself, and I would not mind funding our dates and reckless activities.” Weiss says as a matter of fact.

Ruby rolls her eyes, “No offence, but I’m more than capable of ‘funding’ these activities myself. I am not some tool either for your little game. And how do I know this isn’t your fathers doing either.” Ruby already knew that a man like Jacques would not put his daughter up to this but it was still a thought to entertain.

“Because this isn’t for him.” Weiss blurts out, “I’m doing this because I am interested in you,” Weiss dragged out that last word and it looked like she’s trying to continue the sentence in some other manner, “ your… your lack of manners, your bad habits and your personality. It interests me. Listen, you pretend to date me and you get to be yourself. We get to both enjoy ourselves publicly, if neither of us are gaining anything from it then I still manage to disappoint my father and I will ensure that you don’t hear form us. Ever. Everyone wins.”

Huh.

_She really thought this through._

_Still don’t know if this is worth it though._

“I’m not dating you.” Ruby flats out respond with a neutral expression.

Weiss looked surprised at Ruby before scowling, “What? I thought you wanted to date me? Homosexual dating is the same as heterosexual dating isn’t it? You date someone you find attractive.”

“Homosexual dating?” Ruby took a deep breath and rolls her eyes, “We gotta work on your phrasing.” Ruby mumbled to herself before she spoke up, “Yes, that's how it kind of works, but not for me.”

“Well how does it work then?” Weiss asked, getting increasingly annoyed, at this point that things were not going how she thought they would. She wanted Ruby to take her out, let the public see them together and upset her father. But that’s not how things are going right now.

“Well normally I like to get to know a girl before asking them out.”

“Well duh, that is why I’m telling you to ask me out.”

Ruby was getting more and more annoyed with how this conversation was going, “Weiss, that’s not what I’m saying.”

“So, you don’t want to date me? Because that’s what it sounds like you’re saying.” Weiss begins to tap her foot on the floor, “I’ll have you know that there are plenty of people that would jump at the opportunity I am presenting to you.”

Ruby begins to thinks this over and that is evident with the silence now growing between them.

_I mean, going out with her wouldn’t be too bad. There aren’t any actual repercussions that I am worried about._

_Wait._

They stare at each other with silence before Ruby gets a smug grin on her face, “What if you catch feelings for me, ice queen.”

In response to this, Weiss scoffs, “As if I would ever do such a thing.” With the scowl on her face Ruby catches on that she is not fond of that nickname.

_Well too bad, I’m keeping it._

“Yeah, yeah. That’s what they all say.” Ruby winks at Weiss.

Weiss’s face is now red with both embarrassment and annoyance, “This was clearly a waste of my time. Goodnight to you Ruby Rose.” Weiss quickly turns on her heel and begins to walk away.

 Ruby watches her go and decides to make a split decision as Weiss is now half way across the room, “Jesus fucking Christ! Fine, I will take you on a date! We’ll have dinner this Friday at the Four Maidens at 7 PM.”

Ruby just watches as Weiss stands in silence, her back still to her. Ruby can practically sense a smile on Weiss’s face as she speaks, “Splendid, see you then.”

_What did I just agree to?_

Ruby thinks to herself and sighs, stomping her feet on the floor in a tiny fit of annoyance. She shakes her head and she leaves the museum and to the back lot where her bike was stored. She puts on her full-face helmet and hops onto her motorcycle, Crescent Rose and drives herself home.

It doesn’t take her long since its after traffic hour to get herself home and as she is parking her bike in the garage she hears music coming from inside the house as well as loud singing.

_Yang is cooking noodles tonight._

_Yay._

A big grin forms on Ruby’s face as she exits the garage and enters the house to find her sister in the kitchen singing loudly with the wooden spoon close to her mouth, and Blake standing by the counter chopping vegetables. She giggles and watches for her bit as she watches her sister sing.

“You could be my queen, I could be your dream! Our lives like a fantasy! Maybe set me free? Let me be your bumblebee!” Yang holds the last note, dramatically posing next to Blake who seems to be laughing at Yang’s performance. Yang continues to sing and she turns around and her eyes land on her sister who has been standing at the kitchen door with a big grin, “Ruby! Hey sis, noodles will be ready in a bit? Go wash up.”

Ruby has a half smile on her lips and nods her head, she goes upstairs and takes a quick shower to get herself to relax before changing into some loose sweats and a hoodie. She heads downstairs and searches for Zwei and finds him lying in his bed chewing at a bone. She crouches down next to him and ruffles his hair, “Hey there lazy butt. Did you have a busy day today doing nothing? I’m sure you did.”

Zwei barks his response and wags his tail excitedly. Ruby pats his head, “We’ll go for a run tomorrow morning so you can get some exercise. Let’s go get you dinner first.” Ruby gets up and leads Zwei to the kitchen to fill up his food and water bowls. Blake is now setting up the table while Yang is pouring three bowls of noodles.

Ruby goes to the fridge to get herself a can of soda and sits at the table. She grabs herself some chopsticks and is about to take the first bite of food she’s had all day before Yang speaks.

“How was work sis?” Yang asks as she digs into her own bowl of noodles.

Ruby just frowns slightly and lets the noodles slip off her chopsticks, “It was nothing but paperwork today and at the end uh… I think I got reversed psyched into going on a date with Weiss Schnee?”

“A date with Weiss Schnee?” Blake’s ears perk up slightly and she raises an eyebrow in confusion.

Yang chuckles, “Real funny Ruby. And Blake cuddles Zwei at night.” When she sees that Ruby isn’t laughing she stops laughing, “Oh, you’re serious. Deets sis, I need deets.”

“Well I got out of work and there she was, waiting for me in front of one of mom’s pieces. And she thought because I was gay and found her pretty I automatically wanted to date her.” Ruby continues to explain what happened not too long ago.

“This all happened today?”

Ruby nods her head, “Yes, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it. I don’t know what to do.”

Blake curiously stares at Ruby as she finishes her story, “That’s… not how being gay works.”

“That’s exactly what I said!”

Yang mumbles as she finishes chewing, “Well Rubes, how bad can a date with a Schnee really be? I mean she is only part of the wealthiest families in all of remnant.”

“Dating her isn’t the problem Yang, the problem is the arraignment.” Ruby says as she leans forward to actually start eating her noodles. “Weiss is pretty and all, but I don’t know if we’d have any chemistry either. And what if Remnant finds out what I really look like?”

“You can use a fake name, like how you do at work. No one has to know who you really are, maybe you’re just some girl that Weiss met. It’s good cover. Give it a shot.” Blake says nonchalantly as she takes a sip of water.

Both Yang and Ruby stare at Blake in shock at her suggestion.

“What? But don’t you hate the Schnee company? Shouldn’t you say not to give it a shot?” Yang says as she leans back into her chair, staring at her girlfriend confused.

“I don’t like the company, that doesn’t mean I don’t like everyone who works there. You could easily find a way to contact her and tell her no, but you haven’t. That means you thought about actually going on the date, nothing has to happen during the date. Just get to know her.” Blake shrugs as she looks over at Ruby curiously.

Ruby’s face flushes red and she stammers slightly, “I mean yeah, I thought about it. But… like… I got nothing.” Ruby buries her face into the palm of her hands. “Why can’t I get dates like a normal person?” Ruby mumbles into her hands and sighs loudly.

“Cause you’re the bees knees sis. Normal just doesn’t happen in our family.” Yang smiles softly.

Ruby removes her hands from her face and frowns, “But I don’t want bees knees. I just want normal knees.”

“Ruby, no one is forcing you to go on this date. You agreed to it yourself. But, if you are having doubts. There is nothing wrong with canceling, you have no obligation to her. Think it over the night alright? For now, let’s just enjoy the rest of our dinner yeah?” Yang tells her sister.

Ruby nods her head and continues eating. As everyone finishes eating she gets up and collects everyone’s dishes and goes to wash them. Ruby sighs again and nods in agreement with her sister. Blake goes over to help Yang do the dishes while Ruby heads upstairs to her own room. Ruby grabs a chair and slides it over to her window which she props open.

She reaches into her jacket and pulls out a cigarette. Ruby lights it and takes a slow drag of it, exhaling out towards the window. The artist sits near the window and just closes her eyes, letting the nicotine calm her nerves.

_It’s just one date. What can go wrong? Maybe I’ll actually end up li-_

“Ruby Rose! You better not be smoking in this house!” Yang yells from downstairs.

Ruby tenses up and stubs out her cigarette and quickly tosses into her trash, “I am doing no such thing!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, hopefully you enjoyed reading this. I can't say for certain when I will have the next chapter up since final exams are kicking in. But I promise it won't be long. I'll be posting one-shots of other fandoms in the meantime while I work on this series and Hell's Angel. Thank you all for your patience and support.
> 
> P.S: I'm also going back on previous chapters to edit some things that my friend pointed out.


	4. Date Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay on this, I've hit a really low point and won't rant too much on it. But I put a lot of work into this chapter and did get a lot of writing done. So hopefully y'all like this new update :).

Ruby grabbed the collar of her dress shirt and sniffed it, making sure she still smelled fine from the drive over.

She did, she still smelled nice from the cologne she chose. Riding Crescent Rose usually allowed Ruby to clear her head or at least give her a fast drive to lose herself in, but tonight not even her baby could lessen the knots in her stomach. That, along with her chest protector pressing almost constrictively against the fabric of her dress shirt. Yang would have her head though if she ever found out she had ridden without it.

She prepared for the date by waking up early and went about with her normal work out routine and showered right after. Then, she convinced, begged actually, Blake to help her choose an outfit for the night. To top it off she searched her drawers for all the different perfumes and colognes gifted to her from various friends from various occasions and sprayed each one on a cloth and asked Blake which one was the best.

_I probably ruined her sense of smell or gave her a headache._

_Or both._

Ruby is pulled form her thoughts when she sees a familiar head of white hair walk into the restaurant and start walking towards her.

The artist has to do everything in her power to not let her jaw hit the floor at how gorgeous Weiss looks at this moment with her hair down and wore this beautiful white gown with blue trimmings at the end and a white petty coat with long sleeves. As her eyes went down, Ruby noticed her boots and couldn’t help but admire how nice her legs looked too and-

_Stop staring!_

_This is a fake date._

_This isn’t real for either of us._

Ruby snapped her head up once Weiss arrived at the table and sat across from her.

“Hello Ruby.” Weiss said softly and proper, as if she practiced saying her name a certain way. She sat with her back straight and rested her hands on her lap.

“Sup.”

Ruby noticed Weiss’s brows furrow to her greeting which she ignored, “Have you ordered yet?”

“Uh, no. I wanted to wait for you to arrive that way our food arrives at the same time.”

Weiss nods her head and lifts her menu, which covers her face now. Ruby felt a bit put off by that but looks down at her own menu, pretending that she was deciding what she wanted to order but in truth she already knew.

After ordering and having their menu’s taken, Ruby began tapping her foot nervously as the silence between them was growing.

“I couldn’t help but notice that you arrived early.” it looked like Weiss noticed Ruby’s nervous tick and kept talking, “at least you have the decency to be punctual.”

Ruby slowed her tapping, “Thanks I guess?”

“I want to add something else to our arraignment,” Ruby took Weiss’s silence as a que to continue, “I don’t want anyone knowing who I really am. I know you’re in the spotlight often and I’m sure our dates will become public knowledge soon, I would still like Remnant to not know what I really look like. So, whenever we are in public just call me by my Ruby Branwen, it’s my uncles last name.”

Weiss was silent for a few moments as she stared at Ruby before she nodded her head, “Fair enough. I accept. I will also avoid telling my father that we are,” Weiss raised a hand and waved it in a bored fashion, “dating, to preserve your identity as long as possible since he already knows what you look like.”

Now the two just stared at each other quietly. Well Ruby felt Weiss staring at her, Ruby was just looking anywhere Weiss wasn’t and occasionally glanced at her.

_Maybe I should sa-_

“Are we just going to sit here in silence the rest of the night?”

Ruby sighed and decided to meet Weiss’s eyes, “Well I don’t know what to talk about.”

“Well I have a topic of discussion.”

Ruby stared at Weiss, not saying anything to allow her to continue speaking. She took a sip of her water as Weiss picked up on the cue, “How are you gay?”

The artist choked and covered her mouth to stop from coughing all over the table, “Excuse me?”

“Poor phrasing? Let me rephrase then, how did you know you were gay?” Weiss just says this casually, not caring too much about Ruby choking on her drink or how she phrased her question.

Once she stops coughing and wipes her mouth with a napkin, Ruby clears her throat and speaks, “I figured you would ask something like that tonight and yet I was still caught off guard by it. Um, well I don’t know. I just kinda knew since I was little.”

Ruby leaned back into her seat and tapped her fingers on the table, “Never was into boys growing up and I always found girls attractive. I tried dating a guy once in high school but, I just never really had romantic feelings for him no matter how much time I spent with him. He was a good guy though. Then I dated a girl when I was in college and it was just… it felt different. It felt normal.” Ruby shrugged as she explains this to Weiss, “Why are you asking though?”

“Simple curiosity.” Weiss simply shrugged her shoulder and looks around the restaurant. Ruby reached for her drink since her throat still hurt slightly from Weiss’s sudden question. Something changed in Weiss’s face before she spoke, it almost looked as though there were a silent war waging behind her eyes, before she decided to settle on an almost uncharacteristically soft, “Thank you.”

Ruby quirks her eyebrow, “For what?”

“For agreeing to this arraignment. I figured that you may not be too fond of this but, thank you.”

Ruby just nods her head, unsure how to actually respond to that. After the food arrives and there is now silence between them, Ruby begins to think that maybe this date wasn’t too good of an idea because already they have reached a point of extended silence and in Ruby’s book, that was never a good thing.

Ruby is about to excuse herself from the table to go smoke but Weiss spoke up, “What do you normally do on your dates? Or well, what do you normally discuss.”

“Um, like hobbies I guess. Or just random stuff, something to keep a conversation going. Why?”

“Well it is only fair that since I am the one who,” Ruby saw Weiss’s expression change as she paused, “offered you this arraignment that I put in effort to make this work. So Ruby Rose, tell me about yourself? What do you like to do?”

Ruby leaned forward onto her elbow and rested her chin on the palm of her hand, “Mostly… exercise. Um… oh! I like to bake. Other than that, I’m mostly working.”

“You bake your own sweets?” Weiss said.

“Yeah, not gonna lie, it’s fun spending time with my older sister” Ruby smiled and the bouncing of her foot ceased. “What about you?”

Ruby watched Weiss smile, “I am a productive individual. I rehearse my singing for dinners, ballet practice, attend fittings for my outfits, and fencing practice.” The heiress continues to name various activities she does in a single week.

“And, you do those things for fun?” Ruby furrowed her brows and leans forward on the table, now getting curious about Weiss’s life just being a daily routine of rehearsals, singing practice, followed by even more rehearsals.

“What do you mean? That is fun.”

The artist shook her head, “No, I mean like hiking or mini golfing or something that you do because you want to. Not because you’re required to do so.” Ruby can’t help but feel bad about how it seems that Weiss has no free will to do her own things, but Ruby hides her concern.

“I… those things are fun for me.” Weiss seemed slightly embarrassed about her response and she cleared her throat, “Well not particularly, but it is important to maintain physical wellness and it is crucial to be skilled in various activities.” Weiss sighed and slouched her shoulders slightly, “I do not have time to indulge myself in my free time.”

Ruby frowned slightly, “We are changing that tonight, how did you get here?”

“I was dropped off by my butler, I told him to wait outside until the end of dinner.” Weiss looked at Ruby confused, clearly confused by Ruby’s question.

Ruby nodded her head, “Send him home, I’m taking you somewhere after dinner.”

“Where?” Weiss asked, Ruby could see that Weiss was attempting to hide her excitement.

Ruby simply smiled at Weiss, “That’s a surprise, right now let’s just enjoy our food.” Weiss just looks at the artist with a questionable look before deciding to enjoy her dinner. While they ate, Ruby saw Weiss take out her scroll and after a quick text she put it away.

Dinner went on with another bout of silence, but Ruby was no longer tapping her foot on the floor. She felt relaxed at this moment.

After Ruby paid for both their dinners and exited the restaurant, Ruby grabbed her chest piece and leather jacket on the way out before heading into the parking lot.

Weiss looked around, “Where is your car parked?”

“Didn’t bring a car tonight, I brought my bike.” Ruby chuckled softly and when they approach the bike, Ruby grabbed the helmet and handed it to Weiss, “Here, put it on.”

“But… this will ruin my hair? Is it even clean?” Weiss said looking at the full-head helmet and frowned.

Ruby rolled her eyes, “Would you rather have head trauma or helmet hair?”

The artist had to suppress a grin as it looked like Weiss was literally debating which of the two was worse.

“Helmet hair.” Weiss mumbled under her breath, “Wait. What about you? What are you going to wear?”

Ruby opened a small little bag attached to her bike and pulls out a face-mask and a pair of goggles and puts them on then mounted her bike, “I got these. Now come on, we don’t have all night.”

Weiss wanted to argue about Ruby’s safety, but Ruby turned on her bike and revved it loudly, rudely stopping Weiss from talking. Ruby couldn’t see behind her, but she was positive Weiss was scowling

“What do I hold on to?”

“The seat?” Ruby shrugged, “Or you can wrap your arms around me? By the way, whichever way the bike leans is the same way you lean to otherwise you’ll tip us over.” Ruby said this and didn’t give Weiss much time to think before she accelerates the bike out of the lot, prompting a muffled scream from Weiss and she wraps her arms quickly and tightly around Ruby’s waist.

Over the loud engine of Ruby’s bike and the Weiss’s voice muffled by the helmet, the artist can assume that the heiress is cursing her name and yelling loudly. Ruby can’t help but grin as she drives them to the next destination of their date.

The heiress kept her eyes shut tight and face pressed against Ruby’s back, following Ruby’s advice of leaning with the bike whenever they turned. At a red light, Ruby took notice of how tight Weiss was holding onto her.

_Little too tight._

_God, she has such a strong hold of me._

Ruby patted Weiss’s knee and felt her loosen her hold a bit, which prompted a smile from Ruby. When the light turned green and the bike was put into motion again, the death grip returned, and Ruby couldn’t deny it was a nice feeling to be held by someone else.

_Nope._

_No._

_It isn’t that nice._

_Ruby._

“We’re here.”

Weiss slowly opens her eyes and moves her head away from Ruby’s back and looks around. She notices first they are in another lot and but sees nothing obvious in site. Weiss furrows her brow and keeps looking around, she mumbles her concern but because of the helmet Ruby understands none of it.

“What was that Weiss?” Ruby raised an eyebrow and removes her goggles, putting them away along with her face-mask. She helped Weiss with removing the helmet.

Weiss pulls out her scroll and quickly fixes her hair, “I asked why are we in a random parking lot?”

“You’ll see.” Ruby said and placed her helmet on her bike and activated the magnets on the bottom of it so it sticks to her bike. Tucking her keys into her pocket she motioned for Weiss to follow her. Weiss seemed skeptical at first but followed behind Ruby. Ruby was positive that the other girl was trying to figure out where they were.

Ruby looked back at her date, seeing the nervous look on her face and chuckled, “Having second thoughts about asking me out, Ice Queen?”

Weiss frowned and tilted her chin up with pride, “I’ll have you know that I am more than capable of defending myself and am not having second thoughts.”

“We’ll see ‘bout that.” Ruby said as eventually they round the corner of the alley and come upon a door and a neon sign that is flashing **OPEN**.

As they got closer Ruby started to not only hear the music from inside, but she could actually feel the bass now and she was sure Weiss did too. Ruby opened the door and the smell of sweat and nicotine assaulted their noses.

Ruby stepped inside and held it open to let Weiss in. Ruby couldn’t suppress her grin as she saw Weiss’s expression.

“You brought me to an arcade?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ya, chapter five is just about done. Just need to make edits of it and I just really wanted to thank my friends for being supportive of me during this low-point that I have right now. Thank you all so much for being patient with me and I will get ch. 5 up soon. Have a great day/night!


	5. Just Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for being so patient, I did have to update the tags for this story but here is the next chapter of Painted Rose and hope you all enjoy reading.

_Buzz_

_Buzz_

_Buzz_

Ruby groaned and opened her eyes slowly, the sun shining through her blinds indicating that it was morning. She moved onto her side and yawned, trying to figure out who is texting her on her day off.

_It’s probably Weiss._

The artist sighed annoyed at being woken up so early in the day. She finally grabbed her scroll when it stopped buzzing and looked at it. She saw that she had four unread texts from the heiress. As another new text came in Ruby just puts the phone down and buries her face back into a pillow.

_I’ll answer her later._

_I need more sleep._

Closing her eyes, Ruby tried to get in an extra hour of sleep. But before than can happen she falls a small, but heavy, weight on her back and a panting sound. She groaned loudly and realized that Zwei was now sitting on her back.

“Zwei? Ugh, no sitting on me when I’m trying to sleep.” She tried to turn and eventually Zwei hopped off her back and sat beside her. Ruby sat up and rubbed her eyes, “Okay, we’ll go for a run since clearly I can’t get any sleep.” Zwei barked and wagged his tail and hopped of Ruby’s bed. She got out of bed and changed into her running clothes and looks at her phone.

_I’ll text Weiss back after my run._

Ruby drank some water before leaving the house for her run and Zwei followed beside her. On her run Ruby was just pondering what her next date with Weiss would be.

_Maybe we should do glow in the dark mini golfing._

_Or maybe hiking in the morning would be nice._

_Okay maybe not hiking, she would probably complain about getting sun burned._

_Or she could fall and get hurt._

_Oh, what about we go to a club, get drunk and maybe do…_

_No._

_Fuck that, I don’t do that shit anymore._

_Never again._

Ruby got too lost in her thoughts and was brought back to reality when she heard barking far behind her.

“Oh my god Zwei!” Ruby yelled in surprise as she brought herself to a sudden stop.

_I never realized I started to speed up._

_God damnit I almost left Zwei behind._

She walked over to a tree and sat against it as Zwei caught up to her and plopped down beside her, panting in exhaustion, “I’m sorry boy.” Ruby petted his head and Zwei let out a small huff and wagged his tail in response.

Ruby closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening her eyes and looking around the forest. Looking for something to distract herself with, focusing on anything in the environment. The birds that flew across her, the calming sound of the wind rustling the leaves all around her, the occasional flower she saw around her all calmed Ruby.

Ruby sighed as she managed to finally relax herself, “Let’s turn back home Zwei, I’ll carry you and give you a treat. How’s that sound?” Zwei barked his response and Ruby cradled him in her arms.

After some walking, Ruby went back to trying to think of where to take Weiss for their next date, she turned down to her dog, who was ecstatic at being carried home, “What do you think Zwei? Mini Golf or Hiking?”

“Mini golf it is. Great talk Zwei.” Upon getting home, Ruby gave Zwei a small treat before she headed upstairs to take a quick shower. She sat on her bed afterwards and grabbed her scroll, reading the messages she received from Weiss.

_Weiss: Than you for getting me home safe._

_Weiss: I still smell of smoke because of the arcade Ruby._

_Weiss: But, I had a good time tonight. Thank you._

_Weiss: When are you next available?_

Ruby couldn’t help but chuckle as she read the texts and finally responded back to her texts

_Ruby: Hey Ice Queen, if you’re not busy next Saturday we can go on another date._

Ruby was about to set down her phone, expecting a delay in response but no such thing happened.

_Weiss: Saturday is fine._

_Weiss: Where are we going?_

_Ruby: Let’s keep it a surprise, I promise this place won’t have any weird smells. Dress casually if you can, also anything white would be cool._

_Weiss: Very well._

_Weiss: and stop calling me Ice Queen!_

Ruby changes into some comfortable jeans and t-shirt before she headed downstairs, checking the fridge to see what she can prepare for breakfast. She saw the note that Yang left her about buying groceries.

_Great, Yang is giving it another go to teach me to cook._

_Well, we should probably have the fire department on standby in that case._

Ruby rolled her eyes; her older sister had been slowly letting Ruby cook on her own. Ruby sighed as she admitted to herself that she had a habit of overcooking and sometimes even burning food completely, Yang decided to take it upon herself to teach Ruby how to properly cook.

 With that, Ruby finished her breakfast and grabbed the keys for the truck and headed to the local farmers market.

She arrived at the local farmer’s market in Vale in her truck. Ruby adjusted her sunglasses and walked into the crowd of people looking at various goods. She kept her head low and mumbled quiet apologies as she bumped into a few people.

Ruby arrived to her destination and lifted her head, calling out to a familiar face, “Oscar!”

A young brunette man whipped around at the sound of his name and he smiled, “Hey Ruby, great to see you again. Back for more groceries already?”

“Yeah, Yang’s been trying really hard to get me to cook more complicated dishes and we go through plenty of veggies since I overcook some of it. Tonight, so happens to be one of those nights.”

Oscar chuckled and nodded his head, “Sounds like fun. What do you need today?”

Ruby pulled out the list Yang left her and handed it to the young man. Oscar read through the list while he ran a hand through his hair. He nodded and handed the list back to Ruby and promptly began to gather everything from the list.

“So, I saw that you went out on a date recently?” Oscar asked as he went around his stand getting different items.

Ruby raised an eyebrow, “How do you know? That was like last night?”

“Read it in the paper this morning, that a mysterious red-head and the Schnee heiress were spotted at the Four Maidens last night having dinner. I sort of recognized the back of your head.” Oscar grabbed the newspaper behind him and handed it to Ruby.

The artist took it and looked at the article and the very blurry photo. The photo only captured the back of her head and she sighed with relief. She scanned the article to see if there is any mention of her name which prompted her to relax.

Ruby handed the newspaper back to Oscar and mumbled, “Fucking journalists.” There was now a small silence between them as Oscar put away the newspaper.

“You know what though? It’s good to see you dating someone new.”

“Yeah, we’ll see how things turn out.” Ruby contemplated on telling Oscar about the actual reason she was dating Weiss. Ruby thought this over and decided against it, at least for now.

_I’ll just tell him some other time._

 “Hey, so how is your bike treating you?” Oscar said which pulled Ruby from her thoughts.

She smiled at him, “Named her Crescent Rose and she’s running great. Thanks again for helping fix her up.”

“It was no problem at all.”

Ruby nodded as she put her hands in her pockets and just watched Oscar start putting the groceries in their own bags. She looked around at the people running their own errands, buying groceries, flowers, food and some of them just walking around.

_Normal people with normal issues._

Ruby sighed and closed her eyes, trying to block out the sounds around her. She only had a brief moment to herself before she felt something nudge her shoulder slightly. Ruby opened her eyes and looked to see Oscar gently nudge her shoulder with a kind smile, “Lost you there for a second.”

“Sorry Oscar, got a little distracted.” She smiled back as Oscar began handing some bags to her filled with the items on her list before turning around and grabs a small container.

Putting in some eggs he eventually turned around and handed the container to the artist, “And here you go, a dozen eggs.” Oscar takes out a small receipt notepad from his back pocket and writes down all of the items Ruby requested and tallies up her tab, “That’ll come out to 300 lien.”

Ruby pulled out her wallet and hands Oscar the exact amount of lien he said. Ruby shouldered the bags of groceries now, “See you ‘round Oscar. Tell your aunt I said hi.” She waved at him as she took a few careful steps back with a polite smile.

“I will. Have fun cooking!” He waved back at Ruby as she turned to leave.

Ruby got back to her truck, putting everything carefully in the passenger seat and drove back to her home, wondering what Yang will have her cook tonight.

_Maybe she’ll finally teach me how to make dad’s famous noodle soup._

The artist smiled sadly at the mention of her father. He had passed away a few years ago from a heart attack, it was sudden and out of nowhere and for a long time, Ruby had been angry with the world, she was only twenty and lost both of her parents.

The house they grew up in was left to his eldest daughter, Yang. Ruby had stayed only for a while, but everyday was a challenge for her to wake up in her own home and both of her parents never responding back to her ‘goodmorning’ calls and ‘I’m home’.

Ruby’s eyes watered slightly, which she quickly wiped away, as she remembered the events of the last few years.

When she moved out and kept minimum contact with Yang for a few years, she met someone who she now hated. Because of said person, her ex-girlfriend, she picked up a smoking habit, a drinking problem, did a few lines of coke, some ecstasy and other stuff she doesn’t recall and eventually ended up in rehab and anger management because of this woman.

_Cinder Fall._

_Fuck her._

It was a fucking shit show a few years ago for Ruby. Though the memory was a haze of lights and anxiety, she could distinctly recall Yang. How her sister had rushed out of her house in the dead of night after a single word left Ruby’s lips for the first time in years.

_‘Help’_

_I’m lucky that Yang let me move back in with her even after all the shit I put her through._

Now Ruby was twenty-five and started to continue her mom’s work as an artist. And right now, she was about to head home to have another cooking lesson with her older sister. Ruby smiled softly as she parked her truck and got all the groceries down and into the house.

Upon entering, she was greeted at the door by Zwei with a chew toy in his mouth. Ruby chuckled as she walked to the kitchen to set the groceries down, Zwei followed behind her. Ruby placed everything on the table before she crouched down and grabbed the toy, “Hey there lazy butt.” Ruby threw the chew toy across the room and Zwei chased after it. While Zwei scuttled around the house to get the chew toy, Ruby decided to put away all the groceries.

Ruby took in a deep breath and walked into the living room, she decided to pass the time of her sister’s arrival by watching television.

Although the television was on, Ruby wasn’t really watching it. She was too busy recollecting the events of last night. She chuckled as she remembers the expression Weiss had on her face when she found out they were entering an arcade.

_The look on her face was priceless._

Ruby sighed tiredly with a smile as she leaned back onto the couch remembering how resistant Weiss was at first at being in such a “filthy” place but it did not take long for her to start having fun, especially when they got to the billiards table.

_She was a natural when it came to playing pool._

_Maybe we should do that more often._

Ruby heard the door unlock and turned her head back and sees her sister coming through the door, “Hey sis, you’re upside down.”

“Hey Rubes, how was your day?” Yang asked as she kicked off her shoes leaving them near the door, keeping her backpack slung over her shoulder.

Ruby smiled, “It was fine, got all the stuff you told me to.”

“Cool, I’m just gonna grade some stuff real quick then we can start cooking.” Yang said as she went to the couch and dropped her bag by the couch before she sat down beside her sister.

“Are we going to cook dad’s noodles tonight.” Ruby asked as she watched Yang pull out a stack of papers.

“Yep, we’re gonna cook them together.” Yang said with a smile as she slowly shuffled through the papers, leaving marks on them and then put a score at the top.

Ruby and Yang just sat together in silence on the couch. Well Yang sat on the couch, Ruby tapped her foot and shifted around, anxiously waiting for Yang to finish grading papers.

It wasn’t long before Yang set the papers down and sighed, “Alright Rubes, lets wash up and start cooking. It’s almost five.” Yang stood up and tilted her torso to the side, cracking the bones in her body and sighing with relief.

“Yes sir!” Ruby said and stood up quickly and bolted into the kitchen, more than excited to spend time with her sister

Yang chuckled as she watched Ruby run into the kitchen. The two spent the next hour washing and cutting vegetables, prepping noodles and singing.

“I’m a bad dream!” Ruby sang.

Yang smirked as she grabbed a wooden spoon, using it as a mic, “I’m a rad scene!”

“I’m a tad mean!”

“But I’m not afraid to take you out,” Blake sang. Ruby let out a surprised yell as she did not hear Blake come into the kitchen, or even when the door opened.

Ruby turned to her sister, who was smiling as she went to give her usual greeting kiss to her girlfriend, “Hey babe, dinner’s almost ready.” They shared a few quick kisses

_They’re really cute together._

_I wonder if I can have that one day._

Ruby had flashes of kissing and cuddling Weiss and her cheeks flushed red. She cleared her throat, “Hey Blake.”

Blake pulled herself away from Yang and went to hug Ruby, “Hey Ruby. Food smells great.”

“Thanks, but Yang helped me not burn it this time.”

Yang went back to her sister and patted her shoulder, “Oh nonsense Ruby, I really didn’t do anything. You’re getting better at cooking.”

Ruby smiled at this, not fully believing her sister but appreciated the positive comment anyways, “Are the noodles ready now? I’m really hungry.”

“Let me check,” Ruby watched her sister walk over to the noodles and then holding up her thumb, “Yep, they’re ready. Let’s eat!”

Ruby smiled and walked to the cabinets in the kitchen and got three bowls.

_Would Weiss like to come over sometime?_

She let this thought sit in her head for a while as they all sat at the table to eat. Ruby thought this over all throughout dinner and even as she laid in bed. She couldn’t stop the smile on her lips that formed as she thought of spending time with Weiss behind closed doors, without worrying about the public media.

_That’d be nice._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm finally back from my hiatus, I did spend a nice chunk of the summer writing so hopefully I can update more regularly but I did start school this week. I will do my absolute best to not have the updates so far apart from the other but again thank you all for being patient with me.


	6. Practice Makes Perfect

_She wants me to what now?_

Ruby reread the text that Weiss sent her over and over. She ran a hand through her hair confused as she stared at her phone.

_Weiss: I want you to take me to a night club tonight instead._

Ruby leaned back into her chair, unsure what to think of the text. She tapped her foot on the floor and looked around her office aimlessly, trying to figure out the change in plans. Originally, Ruby was going to take Weiss out to a movie tonight and that would be it.

_Wonder why she wants to go to a club._

_Whatever, I agreed to do these kinds of things anyway with Weiss._

Ruby texted back Weiss to still be dropped off at the museum at the end of her shift in two hours and then they’ll go from there.

_Weiss: Very Well, I’ll see you then._

Ruby tossed her scroll onto her desk and decided to wrap up her work. But, that was a bit of an issue as Ruby started to imagine what would Weiss be wearing tonight. She bit her lip at the idea of Weiss wearing another one of her ‘old’ dresses. Maybe she had a strapless one.

_Or a backless one._

Ruby felt her cheeks flush red, anytime Ruby was out with Weiss she was almost always in a dress and Ruby couldn’t help but admire whatever skin was exposed. A bit of cleavage here, a bit of shoulder there and so on.

_I can’t deny that Weiss is amazingly attractive._

_Hell, I would even say she is flawlessly gorgeous._

Ruby began to chew her lip as she began to day dream about Weiss. The next two hours went by quickly and Ruby could not get any work done. She just put everything away and grabbed her chest protector before she went out to the floor. Once Ruby noticed Weiss she called out to her, but her attention was taken away as she saw one of Weiss’s butlers standing by the entrance of the gallery.

_I think his name was Klein._

Ruby smiled and waved at him and noticed that Weiss was now in her face. Ruby felt her heart stop as Weiss kissed Ruby on the lips, this stunned the artist and she remained still. Too afraid to move.

_Was kissing part of the agreement?_

_I don’t remember._

_Fuck her lips are soft._

_So soft._

When she realized that she should be kissing back it was too late because Weiss pulled away and turned her head slightly, “Thank you Klein, have a good night.”

“Have a fun night Miss Schnee.” Klein said before bowing and leaving the museum.

Ruby tried to think of something to say, but words failed her. Her thoughts were all scrambled and she tried composing herself but she was too stuck on what just happened.

_Weiss just kissed me._

_What the fuck._

“My apologies,” Weiss seemed to have already brushed off the entre kiss off for the sake of turning her attention to her nails. As though Ruby’s open gaping was nothing of interest, “Klein works for my family and I, but will undoubtably have to report back to my father tonight.”

Weiss began to walk away, towards the parking lot, “I figured that would give him something to tell my father.” Ruby saw Weiss turn around when she wasn’t following. The other girl raised a hand and beckoned Ruby over with a finger, “Come on Ruby, I don’t have all night.”

Ruby cleared her throat and followed beside Weiss as they walking into the lot quietly. She took this opportunity to look at what Weiss was wearing, it was a plain white dress with holes on the sides and this black see through material above her chest. She had a white jacket in her hands that she put on as they headed outside.

_Do I say something about the kiss?_

_She brushed it off so easily._

Ruby nearly bumped into her own motorcycle if Weiss hadn’t pulled her arm back, “Jeez you dolt, be careful. Wait,” Ruby watched as Weiss furrowed her brows, “Someone left a helmet on your bike.”

“No, I brought a spare. Yang tore into me the other about not wearing a helmet whenever you and I take my bike. So, I got us another.”

“Your sister is very protective.” Weiss said quietly, Ruby was sure there was more meaning to that sentence than Weiss was letting on. Ruby decided to not say anything on that, she grabbed one helmet and handed it to Weiss. Ruby grabbed her own helmet and put it on, the two girls mounted the bike and the artist began their drive to a night club she used to frequent.

It wasn’t that long of a drive and when they arrived they both straightened out their hair. As Ruby led the way to the entrance of the club she wondered what else Weiss wanted to do. So, they decided to test the waters, Ruby reached out for Weiss’s hand and linked their fingers together. Without missing a beat, Weiss held onto Ruby’s hand and leaned into her slightly.

Ruby couldn’t help but smile as they walked close together towards the club. Rather than waiting in line to enter, Ruby led them to the front door where there was a tall man wearing all black and a red tie. The man’s eye’s opened wide and quickly swung the door open for them. Ruby simply waved at him as they entered and she turned to see the curious look on Weiss’s face, as if she was waiting for an answer.

  
“Sister knows the owner of the club, she and I are free to come in and out.” Ruby shrugged, “They are scared of my sister though, don’t know why.”

Weiss just nodded her head as they made their way down the steps of the club, looking around. There were four glass pillars surrounding the club and the smell of sweat hit their nose as well as nicotine.

“Let’s grab a drink first before hitting the dance floor.” Ruby yelled over the music as she lead Weiss over to the bar.

They pushed passed the people on the dance floor, their eyes squinted slightly because of the flashing lights. Ruby was already building up a sweat because of how hot the club was at the moment. As they reached the bar, Ruby worked on rolling up her sleeves.

“Do you want anything?” Ruby asked before the bartender came over to them.

Weiss looked over at the drinks on display, looking like she was trying to decide what would best suite her, “Whatever you would recommend I suppose. I have only had a glass of wine here and there.”

Ruby nodded her head and thought for a second before deciding to order them both a beer, “No hard liquor then, we will share a beer. If you don’t like it then I’ll just finish it.”

When their beer arrived, Ruby took the first sip before handing it to Weiss. Ruby studied Weiss’s face as she slowly raised the beer to her face and took a sip. Her face quickly scowled when she took a sip. Ruby couldn’t help but chuckle.

“How can you drink this… this thing?!” Weiss asked as she handed it back to Ruby who took a big swig.

“I’m used to it I guess. Anyways, clubs aren’t all about the drinking. They’re also for dancing. Let’s go.” Ruby tilted her head back as she did her best to finish the rest of the beer before she hopped off the stool and pulled Weiss to the dance floor.

Weiss followed behind her and looked back at the bar, “What about your beer?”

“I can get another later.” Ruby walked Weiss into the middle of the dance floor just as a new song started, “For now I want you to show me what you can do, Ice Queen.”

Ruby was prepared for Weiss to just awkwardly move her body, to be honest she figured that Weiss would actually know how to dance properly in a club.

She was proven wrong as Weiss began to dance along to the beat of the music effortlessly, she even draped her arms around Ruby and brought her in closer. This cause Ruby’s cheeks to flush red in embarrassment.

“What’s wrong Ruby? Cat got your tongue?” Weiss said with a smug look on her face.

Ruby swallowed her nerves and shook her head, “I didn’t think you could really dance. I figured you’d like flop around a bit and I would have to teach you.” Ruby simply did the two-step as Weiss practically danced around her.

“Well it looks like I’m going to be the one teaching you to dance better.” Weiss lowered her hands onto Ruby’s hips trying to get the artist to loosen up her movements, “stop being so tense, you dolt.”

_Easier said than done when you move your hips s-_

_LIKE THAT!_

Ruby had to bite the inside of her cheek as Weiss turned around and pressed her back into Ruby. She felt a rush of warmth spread throughout her body as the other girl danced up against her. The artist couldn’t help but wrap her arms around her, bringing her closer as they danced.

Weiss raised a hand and brought Ruby’s head forward to speak into her ear, “I see what you would frequent these sorts of places. This is quite fun.”

Ruby was able to nod her head in response as she tightened her hold around Weiss to keep herself from falling. She looked around to trying to keep her mind from drifting off into lewd thoughts about the girl in her arms.

_There are more people here tonight than usual._

_God it’s getting really hot right now._

_Is the A/C not working?_

They spent some time on the dance floor and Ruby’s thoughts ran rampant in her mind. She hadn’t noticed that Weiss had stopped dancing after some time and was talking into her ear. That was until she felt the heiress pinch her arm.

“Ow! The fuck?!” Ruby glared at Weiss, confused as to her date pinched her arm.

Weiss kept a straight face as she looked at Ruby, “You were distracted again. Am I not entertaining you?” She said as she raised an eyebrow.

“Uh, no it’s not that.” Ruby said as she bit her lip. “You’re… just a very distracting person.”

Ruby saw as Weiss adopted a smug look on her face, “I’ll take that as a compliment. Anyways, my feet are starting to hurt slightly and as fun as it is to make you blush I would like to know if you are hungry. I would like to get some food.”

Ruby never realized how hungry she was until Weiss brought up the offer of food. She nodded her head in response and she felt Weiss take a hold of her hand and lead her out of the club.

Once outside, Weiss was the first one to talk, “Jeez it was really getting hot in there.”

“Yeah, really hot.” Ruby said as Weiss led her back to her bike. “Is there anything in particular you wanna eat?

“Anywhere that sells sweets… and a good iced coffee?”

Ruby thought it over a second, “I know a good café that isn’t too far.”

“Alright then. Let’s go before we starve.” Ruby wasn’t sure but she could’ve sworn she saw Weiss smile in a playful manner before slipping on her helmet.

As Ruby drove them to the café, everything to her was just a blur of lights. Passing by as she sped down the street, in between cars to get to their destination.

Ruby sighed as she parked her bike in front of this small building that didn’t seem to belong. While the surrounding buildings were built out of concrete, there was this little establishment made out of bricks, with large windows that showed the inside of the dimly lit café. Ruby removed her helmet and helped Weiss off the bike.

“This looks… welcoming?” Weiss said hesitantly.

Ruby simply grabbed a hold of Weiss’s hand and tugged her forward, “I promise it’s actually nicer than it looks.”

Upon entering, both girls were greeted with the smell of sweet scented pastries. “I personally like the chocolate covered strawberries here and their chocolate chip cookies.”

Weiss nodded their head as they walked to the small display case near the register. They were greeted by an older man who simply smiled and waved at Ruby then at Weiss.

“Good to see you too. Can I get the usual? And a hot chocolate. Weiss?”

Weiss turned her head from the display to the cashier, “I’ll get a croissant and an iced coffee please. Decaf.”

Before Ruby pulled out her wallet, Weiss was already handing the gentleman her debit card to pay for the sweets, “I got this Ruby. You said I would be for the next time we ate.”

Ruby nodded her head and set her wallet back into her pocket. Once paid the man mumbled incoherently and waved at the girls as he turned around to prepare their drinks. He made quick work in doing so and Ruby grabbed the drinks while Weiss grabbed the pastries.

Before leaving the old man mumbled again with a smile and Ruby returned the smile, “You have a good night too.”

The duo went to take a seat at an open table and Weiss immediately scooted closer to Ruby and whispered into her ear, “How were you able to understand him? I couldn’t even make out a word he said.”

“Who? Shopkeep?” Ruby shrugged her shoulders, “I dunno, I guess I just kinda figure out what he says after months of coming here.”

“Shopkeep? What kind of name is that?”

Ruby rolled her eyes, “That’s what everyone here calls him since it’s the only thing his name badge says.”

Weiss squinted her eyes and stared at Ruby, “You’re lying.”

“Mm-mm. On our way out go ahead and check it.” Ruby said with a smile and took a sip of her drink, watching as Weiss simply huffed and drank her iced coffee. She set down her cup and began to work on eating her chocolate dipped strawberry. The two sat in silence for a bit before Weiss spoke up.

“Ruby,” She paused to make sure she had the other girl’s attention, “about the kiss earlier…”

_Shit._

“Don’t worry about it,” Ruby quickly said. “It didn’t mean anything right? It was just that, a kiss.”

_Smooth._

“R-right.” Ruby saw as Weiss’s cheeks flushed slightly and looked away, “But, it was enjoyable to say the least and I would like to do that more.”

_Oh god._

“The kissing thing you mean?”

Weiss nodded her head, “Yes, and other stuff. Should I feel comfortable. Are you alright with that?”

_Stuff?!_

_What kind of ‘stuff’?_

_Does she mean sex?_

“Yeah, I’m alright with that.” While Ruby said this with a straight face, her mind was racing with thoughts of kissing Weiss and wondering the kind of sounds she would make.

“Thank you.”

Ruby blinked in confusion a few times as she feared that she missed out on what Weiss was thanking her for, “Wait, what? What exactly are you thanking me for?”

“For… your compliance in this arraignment. I figured from your reaction to the kiss earlier today that it was not expected, and that it is likely why you keep zoning out on me.”

Ruby let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of her neck, “So you noticed huh?”

“Of course I did you dolt, you weren’t exactly subtle.”

Weiss sighed and closed her eyes for a brief second before looking at the other girl, “Ruby, I have to be honest. I thought it would be easy to just do create this façade of us dating to anger my father and I can have some fun along the way but in truth, I’m starting to consider you as an actual friend. I want to make sure you are comfortable with this as much as I am. Is that understood?”

_Oh God._

_She just said the ‘F’ word._

_What do I say?_

“Ruby?” Weiss asked curiously as she raised an eyebrow.

The artist swallowed her nerves, “Yeah, sorry. I understand.”

Ruby began to tap her foot anxiously as her mind continued to race with various thoughts, avoiding eye contact with Weiss and scratching her nails along the wooden table. She took a deep breath to try to get herself to relax, she momentarily tensed up when she felt a hand rest over top of hers.

“Are you alright?” Weiss asked, seeming genuinely concerned.

Ruby began to slowly relax and focus on Weiss’s hand over top hers, “Yep, yeah I’m good. Just not really use to hearing that word is all.”

“What word?”

“Friend.”

Weiss scoffed,” You’re kidding right? Surely you had friends growing up right?” Weiss asked in disbelief.

“No not really, I was bullied so bad in elementary that it was better for me to be homeschooled.” Ruby said and she leaned back into her seat.

“What about neighbors?”

Ruby pulled out her scroll and searched for a photo of her home before sliding it over to Weiss, “Didn’t have any.” Weiss retracted her hand from Ruby to take a hold of her scroll and inspected the photo. It was a family photo of a young man with blonde hair and a woman who looked identical to Ruby holding an infant with black hair, there was also a girl with blonde pigtails resting on the shoulders of the young man who Weiss figured was Ruby’s half-sister and father from a previous conversation they had.

Weiss stared at the photo a bit confused, “You grew up here?”

“Mm-hm. Soon as I was eighteen I took this test to get into Beacon University to get a degree in engineering. But, shit happened and things didn’t go exactly how I wanted them to. I ended up dropping out.” As Ruby said this, Weiss mindlessly swiped through some more photos of on Ruby’s scroll and eventually landed on a photo of Ruby in the arms of another woman with black hair, and they were kissing.

“Who’s this?” Weiss asked as she showed the photo to Ruby.

Ruby tensed up and snatched her scroll from Weiss, “No one important.”

Weiss wanted to ask more about the mystery girl but the look on Ruby’s face told her to not press on the issue. After a deafening silence between them, Weiss scooted her seat closer to Ruby’s and pulled her into a hug.

Ruby tensed up at the sudden contact but welcomed it nonetheless, “What’s this for?”

“You seemed upset about me seeing that other photo, I thought a hug would be a good apology for upsetting you.” Weiss said.

_I mean I wasn’t that upset._

_But the hug is definitely nice._

“Oh, well in that case thank you.” Ruby said as she hugged Weiss in return for a brief moment. Ruby would have liked to have held her for a second longer but a phone began to ring.

Weiss leaned away from Ruby and pulled out her scroll. Upon looking at who was calling her, she sighed and answered, “Yes father?”

_Mood killer much?_

“I understand, tell him to pick me up at the museum then. I’ll see you in a few minutes then.” Weiss let out a frustrated noise and stuffed her scroll into her coat. “Ruby, would you mind taking me back to the museum, father wants me home right now for god knows what now.”

Ruby nodded her head, “Yeah, of course.” They threw their half-finished drinks into the trash before getting onto Ruby’s bike and returning to the museum. Ruby didn’t fully realize she hadn’t really moved much after parking in the front of the museum until Weiss pinched her side.

“Shit! What?”

“I asked if you could help me remove my helmet, I think it’s stuck.”

Ruby slid off her own helmet quickly and dismounted her bike. She turned to Weiss who was still sitting on the bike, struggling with the strap on her helmet.

Ruby got up close to Weiss and shooed away her hands to the chin strap, “Sometimes you just gotta pull it really hard.” She said as she went to press on the buckle and tug on it. With a small click, the helmet was off and Ruby set it on top of her bike. She swallowed a bit as she realized just now how close she was to Weiss.

_God she’s so pretty._

_Wait, is she…_

_Is she blushing?_

Ruby noticed that Weiss’s cheeks were flushed pink and guessed that it was likely from their faces being really close together. Ruby kept her eyes on Weiss’s and held her breath. She racked at her brain, trying to think of something so say or do. But she couldn’t think about anything else other than this warm feeling she got from looking into Weiss’s eyes.

_What do I do?_

_Don’t just stand there idiot!_

_Do something!_

_Kiss her!_

Without any further thought, Ruby leaned forward and pressed her lips to the heiress. She was shocked that Weiss had promptly returned her kiss but Ruby didn’t feel the need to focus on that detail in this moment. Rather, she focused on the fact that this kiss was different than the one from earlier. This one was much more enjoyable and could tell that Weiss appreciated the gesture when she felt a hand rest on her cheek.

“Ms. Schnee.”

Weiss pulled away from the kiss, causing a whimper to leave Ruby’s lips, “Klein, I didn’t see you there. I was just um…. I was.”

“No no Ms. Schnee, I’m sorry for disturbing you but we must get you home before you father blows another gasket.”

Ruby straightened up and took a step away from Weiss and helped her off the motorcycle, “I’m Ruby by the way, Ruby Branwen. I’m Weiss’s fr-“

“Girlfriend. She’s my girlfriend.” Weiss quickly interjected.

Klein smiled and bowed his head slightly, “it’s nice to properly meet you Ms. Branwen. But I must be getting Weiss home per her father’s request. I’ll go wait in the car to give you two a moment. Have a pleasant night Ms. Branwen.”

“Goodnight Klein.” Ruby waved at him as he walked a few feet away and entered a black car. She turned and walked to Weiss to give her a hug, “Goodnight to you too, Ice Queen.”

“I told you not to call me that.” Weiss said as she returned the hug, “We’ll discuss that later though. Thank you for tonight.”

“Anytime, get home safe.” Ruby said as she pulled away from Weiss.

Before getting anything else out, Weiss got on her toes and promptly kissed Ruby goodbye before turning on her heel and getting into the car with Klein.

Ruby bit her lip as she saw the car turn on and began its slow departure from where she stood, from the glass she could barely see the peak of white hair behind the expensive glass that p

She felt odd, but in a good way. What she was feeling was hard to describe but it was somewhere along the lines of genuine happiness, not just from how pleasant tonight was, but being around Weiss actually made Ruby happy.

_…_

_Things are going better than I originally thought._

_Maybe this won’t be so bad._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well would you look at that, a new chapter! So yeah, things are starting to slowly pick up now and hopefully you all really enjoyed this chapter. I also have a surprise for the next chapter coming out soon.


	7. Worth the Rush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! So here it is, brand new chapter. I had to fix some things in the earlier chapters to line up with stuff mentioned in this chapter but nothing too major.  
> I commissioned some art from my amazingly talented friend, Nikanono, for this chapter. I'll link her tumblr so you guys can check out her art and I really love how this came out.  
> http://nikanono.tumblr.com/

****

 

 

 

**A Few Years Ago**

There was no way to describe it. The rush Ruby felt inside her chest, the second the tab touched her tongue and the ecstasy seemed to melt away along with all of the anxieties in her chest. There was nothing but her, and her girlfriend, and the twisted dance they had begun once again.

They had spent their nights at several night clubs and have been dating a few months already. It was a continuous cycle of getting drunk, getting high, and more than likely ending the night with sex. And to be frank, Ruby had no issue with that.

“How you feeling babe?”

Ruby turned to Cinder with a grin, “I feel fucking great.”

“I’m going to get us another drink and then I want to go dance.” Cinder said as she pulled Ruby into a kiss before going off towards the bar. Ruby leaned back into the seat and as the other girl walked away.

They were in a new club in Vale called TorchWick’s and it was difficult to get in. Well not for them, apparently Cinder knew the club owner and gave her access to the VIP lounge whenever she wants.

Ruby tapped her foot on the floor to the beat of the music and looked around the club, the dark atmosphere made great use of the neon lights flashing all over the place and all she could really see were silhouettes of people dancing against each other, sharing drinks, and god knows what else.

None of that really mattered to Ruby, all she wanted was to have a good time tonight with Cinder. Upon feeling something cold press against her cheek she turned her head to see her girlfriend handing her a drink.

“One Orgasm for my lovely little rose.” Cinder said as she sat beside Ruby, holding her own glass.

Ruby snickered at the name of the drink, then she scowled when she saw what Cinder was drinking and took a sip of her drink, “I don’t know how you can drink that stuff babe.”

“Some people aren’t meant to handle hard liquor, people like you.” Cinder said with a wink, “Mm, hurry and finish your drink. I wanna dance again before we head out.” Ruby was about to sip her drink before she jumped slightly as she felt Cinder brush the end of her foot along Ruby’s calf, “I have plans for you tonight.”

With that, Ruby did her best to finish what remained in her glass as did her girlfriend before they moved to the dancefloor.

She closed her eyes as she felt Cinder press their bodies together while they danced and enjoyed the feeling of Cinder’s front pressed to her own. Hands resting on her waist, Ruby did her best to keep Cinder pressed against her tightly and her girlfriend was more than happy to oblige. Cinder leaned down to press kisses all along Ruby’s exposed neck, causing the shorter girl to breathe heavily and dig her nails into the other girl’s waist.

Knees buckling, Ruby did her best to remain standing as she felt gentle hands roam up and down along her lower back, her lower back, grazing along her thighs and all this was driving the red-head girl insane.

The music playing had a heavy bass and she was able to feel the trembles throughout her body. The music was really getting to Ruby and she hummed to the lyrics playing.

_‘I don’t care what other people say,_

_The rush is worth the price I pay._

_I get so high when you’re with me_

_But Crash and crave you when you leave.’_

Ruby inhaled sharply as she felt Cinder nip here and there along her neck and as the music changed, Ruby felt her pulse match the beat of the song. The more that Cinder touched and kissed her, the more she let herself get lost in the reactions that her girlfriend was bringing out of her.

_She was… worth it._

* * *

Ruby sat up in bed in a cold sweat, panting and frantically looking around having just woken up from another nightmare. The artist tried taking a deep breath to calm herself down as she realized that she is in her room, alone and safe.

_It was just a dream._

_She’s gone._

Tears began to stream down her eyes and blindly, Ruby got out of bed and walked to her jacket which was thrown onto a chair. She searched all the pockets and cursed silently.

Fuck!

_Where are they?_

Ruby walked to her desk and searched the drawers for a cigarette. She found nothing and ran a hand through her hair, her breathing becoming uneasy.

_Yang threw them out probably._

_She fucking threw them out._

Ruby paced around her room thinking about what to do to relax her nerves. She opened and closed her fists, taking in deep breaths but it wasn’t working.

She turned her head to her bed and then walked towards it. She reached under her pillow and grabbed her scroll, dialing a number without thinking too much. As the phone began to ring, a new anxiety began to creep into Ruby’s mind.

_Wait, why am I calling her instead of talking to Ya-_

“Hello? Ruby?” Weiss’s voice sounded groggy, like she had just woken up.

_Fucking idiot._

_It’s the middle of the night._

_And I just woke her up._

She didn’t say anything, desperately searching for something to say. But her voice failed her, wanting to just hang up.

“Ruby, are you there? Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah, I’m here. Just… I don’t know, I’m sorry.”

Ruby could hear Weiss shuffle around, “Sorry for what? Ruby are you alright?”

_Don’t lie to her._

“I-I… yeah, yeah I’m alright.” Ruby said this without confidence, her voice a bit raspy and shaky. She figured that Weiss wouldn’t believe her response because she didn’t believe it herself.

“You called me at one in the morning, there must be a reason for you calling me.”

_Don’t lie._

“Weiss, I…”

Ruby voice trailed off and didn’t know what to say. She considered hanging up the phone and apologizing in the morning the girl on the other phone spoke up, “Ruby, there are many things I can not stand. But the biggest one is when people lie to me. So, I’m going to ask you again, are you alright?”

_Tell her._

“I had a dream about…. I had a shitty dream.” She said quietly, then holding her breath, nervous to how Weiss was going to respond.

Ruby bit her lip as there was now a silence between them and it was eating her from the inside out that the other girl hadn’t responded yet, “Weiss?”

“I’m here, sorry. I was just sitting up.”

Ruby felt a weight slowly come off her chest just hearing Weiss’s voice again and relaxed at the other girls next words, “I’m sorry that you had a nightmare, do you want to talk about it?”

“N-not really.”

“Well if that’s the case, would you mind if I asked you something that’s been on my mind for some time?”

Ruby nodded her head but realized this was a phone call, so a verbal response was needed, “Uh yeah. What’s up?”

“You said you wanted to keep your identity a secret from the public, but my father knew your name the night we met. What’s up with that?”

“Oh, uh he tried doing business with Ozpin multiple times to purchase all of my mothers work and when that wasn’t working he found out I had my own office in the museum…”

Ruby paused and took in a breath before she continued, “Shit happened and yeah.”

“That sounds like my dad.” Weiss said with a bit of hesitance, and what almost sounded like a hint of guilt.

“Earlier that day though, I was talking to Oz about not wanting to attract a lot of attention to myself and proposed using a pen name. In all his records my name will come up as Ruby Brawnwen, so your dad can tell the public my last name is actually Rose, but no one will really believe him.”

“My father… I’m surprised because he isn’t one to let things slide just like that.”

“Ozpin got it sorted out I guess,” Ruby shrugged as she said this, “Your dad stopped going to the museum too, but I still get constant invites to any charity dinner he is hosting.”

There was a silence between that made Ruby uncomfortable and she hated it. She shifted around in her bed so that her back was resting against the wall , “Can we keep talking? Please… About anything.”

“Yes, of course. Can you tell me what your first girlfriend was like?”

Ruby blinked a few times as she tried to think of a response to properly answer Weiss’s question. This wasn’t something she was prepared for and it was the middle of the night so she had to but in a bit of effort to remember what she could, “Well, it was in college. With this girl named Pyrrha, uh Pyrrha Nikos was her full name.”

“Wait, Pyrrha Nikos? You mean the cover girl of the kid’s cereal? The renown track athlete of from Beacon University? The Pyrrha Nikos that has a gold medal in the 100 meter sprint?! That Pyrrha Nikos!?”

“Yeah, that Pyrrha. We dated a few months in college,” Ruby sighed and crossed her legs, “it was nice.”

“It was nice? That’s it? Ruby you dated an Olympic Gold medalist!”

“I mean, to be fair in college she wasn’t a gold medalist yet. We had met in class and just… yeah. One thing lead to another and we went on a date. That’s all I have to say right now, it was nice.”

In truth, that was the only way Ruby could describe her first relationship. They went on dates occasionally, she felt happy with Pyrrha and then one day the feelings of romance had just faded. They didn’t end on bad terms, but this is near the time Ruby’s dad died. When that happened, she dropped out of college and pushed people away. But Weiss doesn’t haven’t to know about that.

_…_

_Yet…_

“Yeah, I mean there isn’t really much to talk about. We dated, few months later broke up and then… then… shit hit the fan, and I shut down.”

“Your father died right?” Weiss had said softly.

“Yeah, he died and uh my sister and I moved into the house for a bit to prep for the funeral and shit. I couldn’t really deal with losing both my parents… I couldn’t take it… the nightmares started to get so bad that some nights that I woke up and…” Ruby could feel a lump in her throat start to form, “Uh can we talk about anything else please?”

“Yes, of course. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for the conversation to diverge that much.” There was a silence between them that made Ruby’s anxiety stir again, thinking that she had revealed too much to Weiss.

“Tell me about Yang, what is she like?”

Ruby let out a sound that was a mix between a scoff and a chuckle, “She’s hot headed, overprotective, very blunt and stubborn.”

“But she’s always been there for me, and I owe her the world for everything she’s done for me.” Ruby felt a smile form on her lips as she talked about her sister for a bit.

“Sounds like my sister Winter.” Weiss said and Ruby figured she was smiling by the way she spoke.

Ruby tapped a finger against her knee, “You have a younger brother too, right? Wheaton or something?”

“Ugh, Whitley. He acts just like father and tries to order us around.”

Ruby couldn’t help smile at the idea that Weiss rolled her eyes and had her arms crossed at this moment, “But he is my little brother and I’ll treat him with respect to avoid any confrontations with father. I will admit that I enjoy messing with him here and there is.”

“Well isn’t that noble of you.” Ruby couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh at that.

For the next two hours, they talked about whatever came to their mind. The conversation would go from types of music they listened to, favorite types of films and other small details they learned only by asking the other.

Eventually there was a comfortable silence between them that was interrupted with Ruby yawning loudly.

“How do you feel, Ruby?” Weiss said in a sleepy tone, probably just as tired as Ruby was.

“Tired, but better. Thanks to you.” Ruby said, now laying on her side, curled up slightly.

“I think I’m going to sleep, I don’t think I can keep my eyes open any longer.”

“Then go to bed you dolt.” Weiss said and Ruby could sense the smirk that was on the other girl’s face, “Ruby, if you ever need anything, I’m always here.”

“I know. Thank you. Goodnight, Ice Queen.” Ruby said with a smile, slightly surprised to not get a snarky response from Weiss.

With that, she hung up the call and closed her eyes in an attempt to fall asleep. Feeling better than she did earlier, Ruby was able to quickly find sleep.

Ruby wasn’t aware of the time, not that she cared with how sleepy she was, as she put her scroll under her pillow and closed her eyes.

She really only got about another two hours of sleep before her sister stormed into her room, “Ruby! Wakey Wakey, Eggs and Bakey!”

Ruby let out a loud groan and turned to lay on her stomach, burying her face into her pillow, “Y _aaaaaaang!_ It’s my day off!”

“I have the day off too, we’re going to spend it hiking then we are going to go see The Huntsman Rises tonight. Now get your lazy butt up.”

“No, I’ve been in and out of meetings with Oz this whole week and read dozens of emails about selling my work. I’m spending the day in and eating junk food.” Ruby said and turned her back to Yang.

Ruby hoped by not looking at her sister that Yang would go away. But she should have known better as she felt the bed covers yanked off of her, causing Ruby let out a sound of protest.

In retaliation, Ruby slowly began to curl up into a ball. But that was short lived as she felt hands grab one her ankles and noticed that her head was being moved away from the pillow.

 She was being effectively dragged off the bed by her sister and knew there was no point in fighting back since her sister would keep trying to get her out of bed.

In truth, Ruby looked forward to spending the day with her sister but waking up was always such a challenge for her. Especially if she did not sleep peacefully the night before.

Knowing that if she doesn’t sit up or say something right now, Yang was literally going to drag her off the bed.

It had happened on several occasions.

“Fine! I’ll get ready!” Ruby said as she used her hands to prop herself up. As she did she felt her Yang let go of her ankle.

“Great, see you downstairs in ten minutes for breakfast.” Yang said with amusment as she left Ruby’s room and whistled for Zwei to follow her before closing the door behind herself.

Ruby sighed in an exhausted manner as she scooted off her bed and to her closet to change out of her pajamas. As she headed downstairs she tied her hair up in a loose ponytail and found her sister in the kitchen, preparing scrambled eggs and toast.

“So, where we hiking to Yang?” Ruby asked as she got plates for the scrambled eggs.

As her older sister slid some eggs onto her plate, Ruby grabbed two slices of toast. “We’re heading to Emerald Forest today.”

“Oh, that’s the one with the pretty flower beds, right? Are we taking Zwei with us?” Ruby was nibbling away at her toast while talking to her older sister.

“Yes, we most certainly are. He’s gotta lose all that extra weight he’s been gaining from the doggy treats you and Blake keep giving him.” Yang said in a joking manner.

Ruby let out a small whine, “Yang, I already said sorry.”

“I know Rubes, I’m just teasing. Let’s go?”

The younger woman nodded her head and followed her sister out of the house, piling into Ruby’s truck. Well, it was the family truck but Ruby used it more than anyone whenever she wasn’t using her bike.

Ruby tapped her fingers on her knee as her sister started up the truck and began to drive them to the Emerald Forest.

“So, am I allowed to ask how things are going with you and your girlfriend?” Yang asked to break the silence between them.

Ruby tensed up, not expecting this from Yang. Rather than casually reminding her sister that her relationship with was is not real she panicked and responded defensively, “Weiss and I aren’t uh… like really together we are ju- “

“I know sis, just pulling your leg a bit. But seriously though, real or not, are things going well? You two have been going out quite a lot the last few weeks.”

Ruby chewed at her lip and quickly thought about her response, “Yeah, I mean we have gone on some pretty fun dates. She’s fun to be around and to talk to. I just kinda wish we had more privacy sometimes. It’s awkward sometimes when journalists come up and ask us questions, Weiss is quick to answer and dismiss them but I hate their cameras.”

As she said this, Ruby thought to herself more, things were going amazing with Weiss. She could talk to her about anything, she actually had fun being around her and she felt like she actually mattered to another person.

_Maybe… I do like her._

_But does she feel the same way about me?_

_What if sh-_

“Why not invite her over for dinner or something? If you want, Blake and I can clear out for a night, Blake loves it when we go out on late night dates.” Yang said, effectively pulling Ruby out of her thoughts.

“Wait, what? Yang, you don’t have to do that. I mean we aren’t re-.”

“I know, I know. You aren’t really together, but privacy wouldn’t be a bad thing for you two.”

The older girl shrugged her shoulders, “I mean it would be no biggie. You and Weiss can like have pizza and watch movies. You said you enjoyed the dates with new experiences the most, has she ever had a lazy night in?”

Ruby thought about it and she was sure that was something Weiss hadn’t done. That would definitely be a nice change of pace. A nice night, relaxing night of eating junk food and watching cheesy movies.

_That’d be nice._

“I wouldn’t mind it Ruby, if you wanted me out for the night so you and Weiss can be on your own for a night here and there.”

“You’d really do that for me?” Ruby asked, seriously contemplating her sisters offer.

Yang nodded her head, “Of course sis. I mean you’re twenty-five and living with me in your old room, I’m sure you appreciate every second of privacy you can get.”

_Not always._

_But sometimes I do miss having my own place._

_But I like not being alone too._

Ruby couldn’t help but smile at the numerous times she would forget she shared a home with two other people by leaving stuff all over the floor, clothes, dirty dishes and god knows what else. She remembered Yang scolding her to pick up after herself.

The numerous times Blake tried to get her to eat healthier, throwing out almost all of her instant meals. Ruby smiled to herself at how both of them have worked to make her a better person.

Ruby felt a shock of pain on her arm and realized that her sister pinched her, “Ow! What?!”

“You zoned out on me. I asked again if you want to have the place to yourself next Saturday.”

“Yeah, I think that works. I gotta text Weiss for that.” Ruby pulled out her scroll.

_Ruby: Hey, do you want to come over to my place next Saturday for pizza and movies?_

The artist was surprised that she got a quick response from Weiss, knowing that her schedule during the day has her occupied until late in the evening.

_Doesn’t she have vocal practice right now?_

_Weiss: Yes, that works._

_Weiss: It would be nice to be with you outside of the public eye._

_Ruby: Okay, cool._

_Weiss: Will I be meeting your sister?_

_Ruby: Nah, she’s gonna go out with Blake that night. Give us a bit of privacy._

_Weiss: That’s kind of her._

_Weiss: I have to return to practice, I look forward to next week._

_Ruby: Me too, Ice Queen._

Ruby thought to herself with a smile and stared at her scroll, rereading the message. The sweet moment was short lived as her sister sang, “Ruby and Weiss C-U-D-D-L-I-N-G on the couch.”

“Yang! _Noooooooooooo_! That’s not how it even goes!” Ruby cried out and pinched her sisters’ arm. But Yang continued to sing the rest of the song, causing Ruby to sink into her seat and bury her face in her hands.

Although she was slightly embarrassed by Yang’s teasing, she was more focused on how excited she actually was about having someone else to be around that isn’t her sister or Blake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you go y'all. Hope you are all enjoying this as much as I am writing it. As always, kudos and comments are welcomed!


	8. Sleepover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have survived final exams and to celebrate that, I am posting a new chapter of Painted Rose. Hope y'all enjoy it.

“It’s fine, be cool.” Ruby said to herself as she finished cleaning her room for the third time today.

Ruby heard the doorbell ring and bolted from her room.

_Be cool, be charming._

Ruby rushed down her stairs, taking two, nearly three steps at once. As she neared the bottom of the steps, she jumped over the railing and ran to the door. Ruby was out of breath as she opened the door, “Gah-haaa… uh, sup.”

Ruby opened to door to find the pizza delivery man standing at her door with her order. Ruby slouched her shoulders and the smile on her face quickly disappeared. She clicked her tongue and reached into her pajama pants to pull out some lien, “How much was it?”

“Uh, it was 35 lien.” The guy said, looking confused as to why Ruby was out of breath. He didn’t seem to care much about it anymore as she handed him payment for the pizzas. 

“Keep the change.” Ruby said as she took the boxes from the delivery guy.

Ruby used her foot to close the door before she walked to the living room and set the pizza down on the coffee table. Ruby couldn’t help but laugh as she looked around her living room at all the pillows and blankets she brought down to make tonight comfortable for them both.

She made sure she had soda for herself and water for Weiss, pizza just got here and cookies that she spent the morning baking.

Ruby grabbed her scroll and checked the time, seeing that it was just a few minutes past eight. She plopped down onto her couch and began to tap her foot on the floor nervously. Anxiety began to fill her mind as she did another checked the time on her scroll again, then looked around aimlessly to distract herself.

_Weiss will be here any minute._

_It’s fine._

_Dust, I really hope tonight goes well._

_Some wine would help… ugh but Yang definitely still has it locked up._

Ruby looked over at the cabinet in the kitchen where all their alcohol was stored, locked with a key that Yang had with her at all times. Ruby was only allowed to drink anything while in the presence of her sister as to not fall back into her heavy drinking habits.

She sighed, knowing her sister had her best interests in mind, but it did suck not having that sort of trust.

_It’s not like I’m gonna fall back into the deep end again._

Ruby checked her scroll and her knee bounced rapidly as she wondered why Weiss hadn’t arrived already. She told Ruby that she would be arriving around eight pm.

She wondered if that meant before eight or after, likely after seeing how it was already 8:07 pm.

_It’s just a few minutes._

_No biggie._

Before she can dwell further into her thoughts, Zwei barked and waddled towards the door. Ruby turned her head to the window to see headlights shining and walked to the door curiously.

_Is Yang back?_

She opened the door to see an unfamiliar car parked in front of her home, the lights were still on which made it difficult to see who was inside. But the car was quickly shut off and the door swung open to reveal a familiar set of white hair, “I’m sorry for arriving late, I got a little lost on the way here. I’m not use to driving on my own.”

Weiss closed the driver’s door and went to the trunk of the small white car she came in to retrieve a duffel bag. All of the anxiety that had been eating away in Ruby’s mind dissipated as she saw her…

_Friend?_

_Girlfriend?_

“Oh my God!”

Ruby was startled as she heard Weiss scream and run towards her. That was until she heard Zwei bark beneath her.

“This is Zwei? He is so much cuter in person.” Weiss quickly crouched down to lift him up, “and heavier.”

Zwei barked and wagged his tail as Weiss quickly cradled him in her arms. Ruby couldn’t help but laugh as the other girl held Zwei as if he were a small child, “Yeah, this little furball here is Zwei. He’ll be joining us tonight. Is that fine?”

“Of course, that’s fine. Oh, aren’t you just a handsome little boy! Yes, you are!” Weiss said as she petted the top of Zwei’s head.

Weiss gently bounced Zwei in her arms as he turned his head in an attempt to lick her hand, “Aw, you are so adorable!”

Ruby placed a hand on Weiss’s back and lead her inside her home, walking them to their couch, “I ordered cheese pizza for tonight and uh, I made cookies too.”

“Is it fine if I change? I would rather not be in my work clothes any longer.”

“Sure. Bathroom is uh down the hall and to the left.” Ruby pointed towards the hallway beside the kitchen. “Do you want me to walk you there?”

Weiss shook her head and set Zwei down on the couch, “I’m good, shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

Ruby nodded her head and watched as Weiss walked away. Once she heard the door shut, Ruby quickly turned and pointed an accusing finger at Zwei, “I need you on your best behavior mister. That means no chewing shoes or begging for doggy treats. Got it?”

Zwei only barked and leaned forward to nibble on Ruby’s finger. The artist rolled her eyes and chuckled and lifted Zwei to get him off the couch and onto the floor. Ruby heard the door open and turned her head to see Weiss in a blue night gown and her hair loose. Ruby felt her cheeks heat up as Weiss walked towards her, running a brush through her hair.

“What movies will we be watching tonight?” Weiss asked as she took a seat beside Ruby on the couch.

“Well since it’s October I thought it would be nice to watch horror movies.” Ruby saw as Weiss’s face fell slightly.

Ruby couldn’t help but grin, “But, if you’re scared we can pull up something else.”

Weiss glared at the other girl, “I am a Schnee, I am not scared of anything.”

“Prove it then, Ice Queen.” Ruby said as she grabbed the remote and turned on the holo-screen, loading up the movie.

Ruby was honestly surprised that Weiss sat through the first movie, although she did occasionally scream at the occasional jump scares and eventually grabbed Zwei and held tight to him.

She scooted herself closer to Weiss while eating a slice of pizza and smiled as she felt Weiss lean into her. Ruby couldn’t help but sigh happily, having a nice and peaceful night with someone else who wasn’t her sister or Blake was something she really missed.

To have someone in her arms and talk to about anything was a nice refresher, and Ruby had to be honest with herself. She always looked forward to spending time with Weiss, and over the last few weeks things have been great.

It was nice not just to be affectionate with someone else, but for the affection to be returned. The nightmares had even gone down in intensity and frequency which made it easier to get some rest at night.

Ruby looked over at Weiss, who was pressed against her side, and kissed the top of her head. As the credits for the movie began to roll, the artists sat up straight and lifted her arms above her head, leading her bones in her back pop.

“I’m sorry I doubted you Weiss.” Ruby said with a grin.

Weiss sat up and leaned a bit away from Ruby, donning a smug look on her face, “I told you, Schnee’s do not fear anything. Isn’t that right Zwei.”

Ruby chuckled and rolled her eyes, “I’m gonna grab a glass of milk, do you want one?”

“Uh no, I’m good. Is it fine if I chose the next movie?”

“That’s fine.” Ruby said, trying to stifle a laugh since she was sure Weiss was actually a little terrified from watching the horror movie. Ruby was quick to return to the couch with her milk and reach for a cookie.

Upon returning with her milk, she found Weiss holding Zwei up to her face as the screen began to load up the next film.

“Who’s a cute good boy? You are!” Weiss said this as Zwei wagged his tiny tail and barked. Ruby couldn’t help but smile as she watched Weiss pet her dog. She sat back down on the couch and tried to grab Zwei to place him back on the floor, but Weiss quickly holds Zwei to her protectively.

“No, he stays.” Weiss said with a stoic look. Ruby couldn’t help but chuckle at how quickly Weiss grew attached to her dog and simply put her arm around Weiss.

“Alright, he stays.”

Ruby saw that as Weiss got her way she smiled contently and leaned back into Ruby. Zwei adjusted himself to lay across both of their laps as Weiss began the next movie. She decided not to comment on it, rather she focused on the warmth she felt as she cuddled into Weiss.

“Ruby?”

“Hm?” The movie was only a quarter of the way through when Weiss got her attention by lowering the volume of the television.

“I wanted to do something tonight, something new. My sister said when she was younger and attended a few sleepovers…  she experimented with things at sleepovers. When I approached Klein and asked him what he did in his youth, he gave me a good idea for tonight.”

Ruby began to feel her cheeks burn as she wondered what her sister and Klein could have been implying. While she was having this little dilemma go on in her head, she watched as Weiss reach for her duffel bag and pulled something out.

_Wait… She wants to…_

“Since your sister would be out all night, and I trust you. I thought it would be a… new experience if we were both to get drunk without worrying about getting home safe.” Weiss held what looked like an unopened, expensive bottle of vodka in her hand.

“You…. Want to get drunk with me?”

Weiss nodded her head, “Yes, if you feel comfortable of course. But I’ve been curious about what it is like to be in a drunken state, although I am not looking forward to a hangover.”

_I mean…_

_One night of drinking wouldn’t hurt right?_

_I’ve had a beer here and there._

_Some mixed drinks that Yang would make me on special occasions._

_I won’t get shit faced like before._

“I’ll get some soda as a chaser.” Ruby said without dwelling on the thought any further as she walked back to the kitchen and grabbed two sodas from the fridge. She returned to find Weiss uncapping the bottle already.

_I’ll just take a few sips._

_Just enough to get a buzz._

Ruby opened the sodas and held it close to Weiss as she took the first sip and made a bit of a disgusted face and fanned a hand to her face, “Oh god! How can anyone drink this?”

She took the can and sipped the soda as she held the bottle to Ruby who took it and read the bottle quickly seeing that it was a sort of peach flavored Vodka.

_Just a few._

_Yang won’t find out._

Ruby held the bottle to her lips and take a big swig of Vodka, her throat burning as she swallowed the clear liquid. She felt this old familiar feeling of warmness as she pulled the bottle away from her lips and took a sip of her soda.

“Let’s start the other movie,” Ruby said as she leaned back onto the couch and scooted closer to Weiss. The other girl grabbed the remote and pressed play.

Neither of them paid too much attention to the movie, and after finishing nearly the entire bottle they were fairly drunk. Ruby more so than Weiss since she drank a majority of the Vodka.

“And that’s why only Blake cuts my sisters hair.” Ruby said with a chuckle.

Weiss laughed at that and tried to slap Ruby’s shoulder but in her drunken state she missed and slapped Ruby’s face. Weiss gasped and covered her mouth, “Ruby, I am so sorry.”

“Nah it’s fine. Cinder used to hit me harder than that. Your hands are really soft though. Like you.”

Weiss began to laugh again when she realized that Ruby wasn’t upset with her. But that laughter quickly died as she saw that Ruby wasn’t laughing with her, she merely tilted her head back as she finished the last bit of the bottle.

“Ruby?”

Before Ruby could have responded, they turned their heads to the door as it swung open, “Hey Rubes, our reservation got canceled for some reason. Is it cool if Blake and I just lounge around and me-…”

_Oh shit._

For the first time, in a long time, Ruby swore that she saw Yang’s eyes flash crimson.

At this very moment, Ruby felt true fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Viola. Hope you all have a happy holiday season! Kudos and Comments are always appreciated and thank you all so much for reading this story <3


	9. Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this?! A new chapter?! Yes it is. This one went through a lot of edits and revisions because I wanted to do the best work that I could with chapter. Slight warning in this chapter about the mention of domestic violence. Other than that, I'll let you guys read on.

The light entering Ruby’s room caused her eyes to hurt and her first instinct was to shut them. But the hangover she was having would make this task difficult.

She settled for turning away from the blinds.

Something got her attention as she turned onto her side. Ruby saw there was a glass of water beside her bed and two aspirin pills. She sat up slowly, taking a little sip of water before taking the two pills, quickly downing the rest of the water.

The events of last night were muddled, like her head. She remembered Weiss coming over. She recalled watching two movies.

The dread began to sink in as she remembered that her sister walked in on them both drunk.

_Oh Dust._

Ruby shuddered as she remembered the angry look on her sister’s face. She wasn’t sure if there was any yelling. Ruby was pretty sure there was yelling, but she couldn’t really remember if it was directed at her.

Ruby swallowed nervously as she slipped on her slippers and opened her door, peeking her head out into the hallway first. Her mouth watered as she smelled food, making her way slowly down the stairs to the kitchen.

She nervously kept her arms at her sides, opening and closing her hands.

She walked to the kitchen and found her sister making pancakes, humming softly.

“Yang?” Ruby said, her mouth felt dry and her hands began to tremble. She held one of her hands at the wrist tightly to try to stop the shaking.

Yang turned her head and took a deep breath. A look of exhaustion on her face, “Hey sis. How are you feeling?”

“I mean my head still hurts a little but… Yang I’m so sorry for la-“

Ruby was cut off as Yang raised a finger to shush her, “Ruby, we can talk about that in a little bit. Right now, let’s just all have breakfast together. Would you mind waking up your girlfriend?”

_Girlfriend?_

_…_

Ruby’s eyes went wide. She suddenly realized that Yang was referring to Weiss. This caused panic to set in as she became concerned about the well-being of the other girl.

“Weiss is still here?!”

“I got her set up on the couch after getting you into bed last night. Make sure she drinks the water and takes the aspirin, please.”

Ruby turned herself to exit the kitchen, very confused about what just happened. That was until her eyes landed on the couch.

She saw a hand resting on the top of it. As she approached it, she saw that Weiss was sleeping in an awkward angle. Her hair a complete mess and body partially hanging off the couch. Weiss had a bit of drool coming down her cheek as well.

Ruby swallowed nervously as she kneeled and gently nudged the other girl’s shoulder.

“Weiss… Weiss, wake up.”

She spoke so softly that she was barely able to hear herself.

Ruby was worried about how eerily calm her sister was. She knew that Yang wouldn’t do anything rash to her. But Ruby had to admit that she made a mistake last night.

But she has also never been necessarily on Yang’s bad side either. Ruby continued to gently nudge Weiss until she heard a groan from the other girl.

“Ruby?... Ugh, my head hurts a little.”

She reached for the water and aspirin for Weiss and offered it to her.

“Here, drink this. Um, my sister told me to wake you so we can eat breakfast.”

Hearing that, Ruby saw as Weiss’s eyes shoot open and she sat up, “Your sister?! Ow, my head.”

Weiss took a sip of the water first before taking the aspirin and downing the rest of the glass afterwards.

Once that was done, she leaned toward Ruby and spoke in a hush tone, “Your sister wants me to join you for breakfast?”

“Y-yeah, she told me to wake you up. I-I’m sorry if she yelled at you last ni-“

Weiss cut off the other girl, “No, Ruby. You don’t have anything to be sorry about, I was the one that got you drunk. This wasn’t yo- ”

“Breakfast is ready!” Yang called out from the kitchen.

Ruby and Weiss shared one last look with each other before walking together to the kitchen, quickly taking their seats next to each other as Yang plated the food and placed it in front of them.

The smell of bacon and pancakes caused Ruby’s mouth to water and her stomach growl. No one moved or said anything. Both of the younger girls remained silent as Yang took a seat across from them.

“So, about last night.”

“It was my fault.” Both Ruby and Weiss said simultaneously before looking at each other and getting quiet.

Yang took in a deep breath, met Ruby’s eyes and spoke, “It doesn’t matter whose fault this was or who started it. Ruby, you may be my baby sister, but you are also a grown woman and you capable of making your own decisions.”

“Yang I’m so sorry I-“

“I’m not angry or upset sis… not anymore. Last night when I saw the state you were in… I got scared. And getting upset would not have helped. I worked on calming down and Blake helped me with that. She also cleaned up while I tucked you in bed and got Weiss set up on the couch.”

“I was just worried that you fell back into drinking like… like before. I just got scared.” Yang said this and reached across the table to place her hand on top of Ruby’s.

Ruby felt her stomach drop and her body tensed at what Yang had said. She did her best to keep her past hidden from Weiss, and now her sister just said it out loud.

Before Ruby said anything, Weiss spoke up, “Like before? What do you mean?”

Yang looked at the other girl seemed to be holding her breath for a bit before saying anything, “Yeah, Ruby um…. I think that’s a discussion the both of you should have in private. Anyways, I just wanted to say that I just want you both to be safe.”

Both of the girls remained silent as Yang leaned back into the seat. Ruby slowly reached for a fork and picked at her bacon, unable to eat. She was too busy trying to process that her sister just shared something that Weiss wasn’t supposed to find out about.

She turned her head to look at Weiss who was also silent. It looked like she was lost in thought. This made Ruby very anxious that she likely had to share with her why Yang was so upset about her being drunk.

That meant revealing a past that she had kept buried for some time now. Yang clapped her hands together, “I’ll let you have the morning to yourselves. Right now, I’m going to head upstairs and wake Blake up to take her out to brunch to make up for last night’s canceled dinner. Rubes, if you need anything, you know I’m just a phone call away. And Weiss?”

The heiress raised her head to look at Yang to show that she was listening.

“You’re always welcome in this house, just uh… please be careful.”

When neither of the girls said anything else, Yang spoke up again, “Alright, I gotta go wake up Blake.”

Yang got up and pulled them both into a tight hug before walking upstairs. The sound of her sister’s steps getting further away, causing Ruby to sink her chair.

“Weiss are y-…”

“Ruby, did you have a… a drinking problem before?”

_Getting right to it then._

“Uh… I mean sort of. Yeah?” Ruby said hesitantly, she sank further into her seat and crossed her arms.

She had hoped to never have this conversation with Weiss, but now the cat was out of the bag and Ruby was going to talk about this one way or another.

“What do you mean sort of?” There was a hint of offense and curiosity in her voice.

Ruby let out a shaky breath, “Can we talk about this later?”

She slowly lifted her head to look at Weiss with pleading eyes. The look on Weiss’s face told her she understood why Ruby didn’t want to talk about this right now.

“Very well.”

_Thank Dust._

Both of them sat in silence as they ate the rest of their breakfast together, they said a quick goodbye to Yang and Blake as they exited the house. Leaving the girls alone in the house once again.

Ruby’s attention was brought back as she felt a hand rest on her shoulder and another on the top of her head. She became aware of the fact that Weiss was hugging her head gently.

“Uh, Weiss? What are you doing?”

“Hugging you, dolt.”

“I see that. But why?” Ruby wasn’t complaining, but she was curious as to why the other girl was holding her right now.

Ruby was shushed by the other girl and decided to close her eyes, enjoying the embrace of the other girl, “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble with your sister.”

“I mean… we did have a bit of fun last night. But maybe let’s stay away from drinking.”

“Agreed.”

There were no words between them for a while. That was until Weiss spoke up, “I never got to see your room. Would you mind if I stayed over a little more? A nap sounds really nice.”

Ruby couldn’t help but chuckle and nod her head, “Yeah, a nap sounds good. Lemme just wash the dishes real quick. My room is upstairs, first on the left.”

“I’ll help you wash them.” Weiss said, already letting go of Ruby and grabbing both their dishes.

The artist chuckled, “What’s this? The Ice Queen doing housework?”

Weiss turned her head and glared daggers at Ruby, “Don’t mock me.”

Ruby felt a small shiver run down her spine at Weiss’s tone. She stopped her teasing at they quickly washed and dried the dishes. Ruby lead Weiss upstairs to her room and paused at the door.

“Uh, before we go in… um… I didn’t really change anything when I moved back in with Yang. So, there are some stuff that um…. I never got rid of.”

Weiss smiled and kissed Ruby’s cheek softly, “Ruby, unless there is a dead body in your room or something, I’m not going to judge you for what you have in your room.”

Ruby smiled at that and opened the door, leading the other girl into her room. Ruby shut the door once they were in. She stayed by the door and watched as Weiss looked around the room.

“I didn’t take you as a passionate reader.” Weiss said as her eyes landed on Ruby’s bookshelf. She felt embarrassed that Weiss pointed out her shelf.

Weiss began to walk towards it and seemed to be inspecting her books, “You have quite the collection.”

Ruby shrugged her shoulders and climbed onto her bed, “They’re mostly like graphic novels and comics. A few are actual books.”

“Hm, what’s this one about?”

Ruby squinted her eyes to see which one Weiss had grabbed and she felt her heart stop. Weiss was holding a copy of ‘ _Ninjas of Love’_ that Blake gifted her.

_Oh fuck._

Ruby rushed over to Weiss and slammed the book shut before Weiss could read anything from it. She quickly took the book from her hands and shoved it into her desk, “That is a very boring book!”

Ruby stared intently at Weiss and swallowed heavily. She hoped that Weiss wouldn’t ask about the book as she changed the subject, “Do you want to spoon?”

“Excuse me?”

“Do… do you know what spooning is?” Ruby asked, curious about the tone in Weiss’s voice.

“Is that some sort of sex thing?”

Ruby couldn’t help but laugh, “No, not really. Come on, lay down with your back to me. I’ll be the big spoon.”

Ruby first went to her window to close the blinds before she got herself under the covers. Waiting for the other girl to join her. Once settled, Ruby scooted forward and curled her body against Weiss’s and wrapped her arms around her waist.

She leaned forward and pressed her face to the back of Weiss’s neck and spoke softly, “This is spooning. If you don’t like thi- “

“No. I like this.” Ruby noticed that Weiss shivered when she spoke, “This is really comfortable. Makes the headache a little more bearable.”

Ruby reached up with one hand and brushed Weiss’s hair aside to expose her neck and rested her forehead there, “I’m glad…”

They stay like this for a while.

As time went by, she noticed that Weiss’s breathing grew calm and Ruby figured she was asleep.

_Do it._

The artist took a deep breath and held tightly to the other girl, “I um… was in rehab a few years ago… for uh drug and alcohol abuse.”

Ruby paused, her voice a bit shaky as she began to open up to Weiss. Even though she was asleep, this was very difficult for her to do. Ruby wasn’t sure if she should say anything else.

_I can’t do this._

_I should stop._

_…_

_No._

_I have to say it aloud._

_At least for myself._

She began to feel her nerves calm slowly, “I had a real problem… after my dad died… and I met someone.”

“Someone who changed my life… in the worst way possible.” Ruby tried to swallow but her mouth felt dry and she began to tremble a little. She felt that she was about to have a panic attack.

She felt Weiss entwine their fingers, “You don’t have to talk about this right now Ruby. It’s okay. You’re okay.”

Ruby felt her breathing become ragged and come in short gasps, realizing that Weiss had most likely heard everything she just said.

Weiss turned over to face Ruby and pressed their foreheads together, their noses brushed against each other’s and this calmed Ruby slowly.

She shifted her body and Ruby tangled her legs with Weiss’s, bringing the other girl closer to her.

Ruby believed now that Weiss deserved to know the truth. She was relieved slightly that Weiss hadn’t scooted away or told her to stop talking.

Ruby didn’t have to tell her everything, but she at least deserves to know some of the truth.

This thought made Ruby’s breathing become heavy and her mouth felt dry all of a sudden. The panic beginning to take over her thoughts again.

“I’m here Ruby. You’re okay.”

Those calming words and Weiss stroking her cheek gently gave Ruby the strength to keep talking, “Her name was Cinder. I uh… She was interested in keeping me around. She had me in her grasp.”

“Everything about her was so… so intoxicating. She was like… this drug. And I couldn’t get enough of her.”

“We tried dating, but for all the wrong reasons. We were on and off for two years or so. Whenever we argued she would…” Ruby tensed and her voice quivered.

“She made me feel worthless Weiss. And sometimes it got… physical.” Ruby reached for Weiss’s hand and squeezed it, not wanting to break into tears.

When she felt Weiss squeeze her hand in return, Ruby continued to talk, “One night… I had enough. I spoke up to her and… she… she…”

Ruby felt her composure break away, but she pushed on, “she hurt me…. and when she was done, she grabbed me by the hair and threw me out her apartment. The next thing I knew… I was in a hospital bed... I don’t remember how though.”

“I just… that night… that night I asked the nurse to call Yang. And uh… she drove in the middle night to get to me...”

“After I got discharged, she helped me get into rehab. Which I did for a year and a half for drinking and… drug abuse.”

“Like two months ago I started to have a drink here and there, usually with Yang’s supervision. Then… last night happened and… yeah.”

That was it. That was all Ruby was able to say before she felt her voice leave her. Ruby closed her eyes to inhale slowly, she was so scared to look Weiss right now. But she was surprised to feel Weiss’s lips press against her own.

She felt herself melt into the kiss and did not hesitate in kissing Weiss back. Ruby let go of Weiss’s hand and wrapped her arm around the other girl while they shared this peaceful embrace.

When Weiss pulled away from the kiss, Ruby let out a small whimper as she quickly missed the feeling of the other girl’s lips against her own.

“Ruby, you’re not that person anymore. You are a much better person now.”

The artist nodded her head and held tighter to the other girl, “I wouldn’t say better… but I got help “

Ruby waited to see if Weiss would say anything else. When she didn’t, Ruby continued on, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about this earlier, I was worried that it would scare you off or something.”

“Ruby, you can share anything you want with me. I know this was hard for you to share. But, thank you for telling me this. I’m sorry that you had to go through all that.”

Ruby wanted to say more to Weiss, but she couldn’t find the words. But right now, that was fine. Words weren’t needed at this moment.

She felt Weiss run her hands through her hair. Letting Ruby know that no words were needed right now.

The red-haired girl adjusted her position to rest her head on Weiss’s chest and closed her eyes. Her eyes feeling heavy after all the emotional turmoil of the last few hours.

Ruby let her eyes close and slip into sleep, comforted with Weiss playing with her hair and planting kisses on the top of her head.

She held tighter to Weiss and let herself drift off into sleep.

_I did it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there we go. A little more in Ruby's past life. Hopefully y'all enjoyed reading and wish you guys a good weekend as well. Big thank you to all of you by the way for reading this.


	10. Spotlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lovely drawing here is done by my amazing and talented friend nikanono and you can find her on tumblr here http://nikanono.tumblr.com/
> 
> Happy readings!

_This shouldn’t be a problem._

_How hard can it be?_

_Plenty of people don’t know how to do it._

_Besides, it’s not like everyone’s done it._

_Seriously though, how hard can it be?_

Ruby sat in her office, twirling in her chair anxiously as she waited for Weiss’s arrival.

Tonight, Weiss wanted to take Ruby ice-skating.

When Weiss had asked her if she had ever been ice skating, she technically hadn't been lying. There was one time at Signal. Even if she had stayed seated the entire time and never actually touched the ice.

_Dust, this is going to be a dis-_

A new message pinged on Ruby’s scroll. However, her face fell upon realizing it was only Yang who had texted her.

_Yang: Good luck tonight! If you fall there is ice to stop the swelling!_

Ruby huffed. Knowing Yang, even the solid two lines of frowning emojis sent in response would get a laugh. Perhaps some things really do never change. She set her scroll back down on her desk and put her stuff away.

When she finished up, Ruby grabbed her red hoodie and slipped it on. She grabbing her helmet and vest, making her way to Ozpin’s office.

Ozpin had a habit of overworking himself. And with a charity dinner coming soon, he was bound to be in his office. Ruby decided to check in on him.

When Ruby reached his office, she knocked on the door and poked her head in, “Still here Oz?”

“Ah, Miss Rose. Come in.”

Ruby stepped in and closed the door behind her. She sat down across from the older gentleman, “Clearing out for the night I presume?”

“Yeah, I’m just waiting for Weiss to get here.”

“Another date tonight?” Ozpin asked with a curious brow raised.

Ruby nodded her head. She leaned back into the seat and did her best to balance it on the back legs, “Yeah, Ice-Skating.”

She looked around Ozpin’s office while he typed away at his keyboard. She looked at all the folders cluttering his desk. Ruby also saw that his mug was still steaming, likely because he just poured it.

Ruby sighed as she looked at Ozpin and saw the bags under his eyes, “Oz, you gotta get some more sleep.”

Ozpin chuckled and moved his keyboard away. He leaned back into his seat and clasped his hands together, “I will. Soon anyways. But tonight, I want to finish my report before I leave. Which reminds me, don’t forget about our meeting with the benefactors this week. We want to finalize details on the masquerade approaching.”

“Right, this is the charity event right?” Ruby began to rock herself on the chair back and forth.

“Yes. However, everyone is a bit cross right now, I’m afraid.”

“Why’s that?”

“Finding suitable entertainment has a few of the trustees at odds. None can seem to agree on who to hire.”

Before Ruby could any sort of potential suggestions her scroll pinged once again. She looked down at the screen to see that it was Weiss telling her she just arrived.

“Go and enjoy your night. I need to finish responding to some emails and wrap up my report.” Ozpin said as he stood up and lead Ruby to the door, “Goodnight Miss Rose.”

Ruby had no time to say anything else as Ozpin essentially booted her out the door. Ruby scoffed but couldn’t help but smile, “Goodnight to you too Oz.”

She went outside and the cold Autumm air greeted Ruby and she zipped up her red hoodie. She looked around the museum to look for Weiss. A little down the way she saw a black car parked and made her way to it.

As she began to descend down the museum steps, she smiled widely as she saw the white-haired girl exiting the car. Ruby began to take two steps at a time to get in excitement.

On her way down, she admired the dress that Weiss was wearing. It was definitely nicer compared to her black jeans and red hoodie.

Weiss’s dress was a nice shade of blue that got lighter near the hem of it. Her leggings had the same shade of blue as her dressed and also got lighter. The white sash she wore went really well with her dress too.

_Is everything she owns just blue and white?_

Ruby embraced the other girl tightly, “It’s nice to see you.”

“It’s nice to see you too Ruby. Ugh, I could not stand being around my father or brother any longer.”

Ruby smiled as she pecked Weiss’s lips and held her hand. They walked to her motorcycle and Ruby spoke in a teasing tone, “Well glad I can take your mind off things. Where’s the ice-skating rink located again?”

“It’s downtown, just around the corner.”

Ruby nodded her head before mounting her bike. Once both girls were situated onto it, Ruby revved Crescent Rose to life and drove to the skating rink. Lucky for them, there wasn’t much traffic and they would arrive at the place in no time.

The lights were nothing but a blur for Ruby as she drove in between cars. She began to feel nervous the closer they got to the ice rink. She should probably tell Weiss the truth about the fact that she really didn’t know how to ice-skate so that she wouldn’t look stupid.

Ruby pushed the thought aside as she pulled into the parking lot. She parked at the front of the rink and something felt off. When she removed her helmet, she looked around the lot and found it empty.

“Uh, you sure this place is open right now?”

Weiss got off the bike and removed her own helmet, “Yes, it is open. I rented the entire place so that it is just us tonight.”

Ruby stopped mid-step before they got to the door, “Wait… you what?”

She had heard what Weiss said, but she couldn’t quite believe that Weiss actually rented an entire ice-skating rink for the night.

“I rented the entire place just for us. That way we don’t have to worry about anyone else, except the manager to lock up after we leave.” Weiss said as she opened the door and urged Ruby inside.

She was taken aback that Weiss had rented out an entire skating rink just for the two of them. Ruby swallowed hard as she stepped forward.

Ruby was dumbfounded at how Weiss was casually mentioning how she just rented an entire skating-rink for the both of them.

It was often easy to forget just how much money Weiss actually had to her name. For all Ruby knew this probably didn’t even put a dent in her allowance.

_Do rich people even get allowances?_

_Is the money just… there?_

_Waiting?_

Ruby walked a bit faster to catch up to the other girl. Upon entering they were greeted by the manager, “Greetings Miss Schnee! We have the skates prepared for you and your date. If you require anything else, I’ll be in my office.”

The man looked to be in his late fifties. His brown hair was combed back and he had a friendly smile on his face. He did a little bow before he quickly turned on his heel and retreated to his office. Leaving them alone in the cold open space.

Ruby watched the other girl walk to the counter where two pairs of ice-skates on a counter. Weiss motioned for Ruby to get closer. She wasted no time in making her way to Weiss.

Ruby got a curious look as Weiss handed her a pair of skates that looked brand new. She inspected them all around. They were completely black. The only other color on the skates were the laces, which were red.

These were Ruby’s favorite colors and was a little surprised that Weiss got her skates in those two colors.

_Are hers blue and white then?_

Ruby turned her head and chuckled as she saw that Weiss’s pair of skates were in fact, blue and white.

“These don’t look like normal rental skates.” Ruby said, guessing that Weiss purchased these.

“I needed a new pair and decided to order you some as well. The manager is a family... acquaintance. He rush ordered them.”

“Well that explains why you asked for my shoe size the other day.” Ruby said with a chuckle as she sat down. She removed her own shoes and sat down on a nearby bench to put on the ice-skates.

Weiss let out a small huff, “Yes, I did my best to keep this a secret.”

Ruby was slow to put her skates on. She was busy taking in the fact that Weiss not only bought out an entire skating rink for them. But Weiss also rushed ordered some custom skates for tonight and… and this was all normal for Weiss.

It didn’t seem to be a big deal for Weiss. But this was a very big deal for Ruby. Not because Weiss spent a lot of money tonight, but the fact that Weiss spent a lot of money on Ruby.

Ruby took in a deep breath to collect herself and finish tying her skates. Weiss did this so they could have fun ice-skating.

Alone.

Which meant that Ruby wouldn’t have to worry about bumping into other people and falling down. Ruby stood up at that with a triumph smile that she could probably get through tonight if she stayed near the wall.

_Fuck._

_How do I walk in these things?_

Ruby took a cautious step forward and wobbled horrible, almost falling down. She looked around hoping to ask Weiss to help her onto the ice but saw that the other girl was already doing a lap around the rink.

With slow and careful steps, Ruby did her best to get to the gate that lead towards the ice.

_These are worse than stilettos!_

Eventually, she managed to get into the rink and she held onto the wall for dear life. Ruby held onto the wall and slowly slid her feet forward and was making progress down the wall.

She took the time to look around while Weiss continued to skate around the rink. The walls were painted with penguins, polar bears and igloos. She looked at the floor and saw the snow flake shapes the lights were making.

Ruby also noticed that there was music still playing faintly from the speakers. She furrowed her brows and listened to the song currently playing. She recognized the steady rhythm of the guitar playing and figured out that it was one of her favorite rock songs.

_I wonder if this is music that the manager regularly plays._

_Or if Weiss selected tonight’s music._

“Hey Weiss?” She called out loudly.

The other girl heard her name and skated back to Ruby, “Yes?”

“Did you um… the song that’s playing…”

_Dust, how do I phrase this._

”Yes, there is a specific playlist for tonight that I requested. It’s music that we both like.” Weiss said nonchalantly.

She couldn’t believe it. Weiss really wanted tonight to be just for them. Ruby tightened her grip on the wall, “You… you did that for me.”

“I did it for us silly.” Weiss said as she rolled her eyes, “Come on, let’s skate together.”

Ruby’s eyes opened wide and she spoke quickly, “Can you give me a minute? I’m just trying to get the hang of this again. It’s been a while.”

Weiss stared at Ruby suspiciously, “Okay. I’m going to do another lap while you… get the hang of it again.”

Something about her tone made Ruby get a bit nervous. But that was melted away when Weiss leaned forward to kiss Ruby’s cheek before skating away.

Ruby sighed a breath a relief. She pulled herself forward to gain a bit of momentum. When she was going  

That was a mistake though because the instant her foot came off the ice, she began to lose her footing. She quickly slammed her foot back down and grabbed onto the wall with both hands.

Ruby refused to move. She was about to turn around wanting to exit the rink but Weiss was skating towards her.

Like water took to the sea, Weiss glided gracefully beside Ruby with an expectant look on her face, “Something wrong?”

_Play it cool._

“Yeah, it’s just been a while. Gotta get used to it. You can go ahead and do a few laps if you want.”

Ruby did her best to give a convincing smile, but Weiss merely rolled her eyes, “Ruby, do you really know how to skate?”

Not wanting her ego to be bruised, Ruby quickly retorted, “Of course I know how. I totally know how to skate.”

“It’s fine if you don’t, I can show you how.”

“I’m fine.” Ruby said quickly. Maybe a little too quickly. She hoped that Weiss hadn’t caught on that she was lying.

“Alright then. Come to me.” Weiss said. Something about how Weiss said that made her shiver.

Ruby swallowed nervously, knowing that she either comes clean now or go to Weiss. There was a high chance of her falling on her ass though. Either way, Weiss was going to find out she was lying.

_Fuck._

Taking up the challenge, Ruby did her best to stand up straight and push off the wall, slowly sliding towards the other girl.

When she got close to Weiss, she quickly latched onto her elbows to not fall over, “See? Easy peasy.”

Weiss scoffed, “Congratulations, you pushed yourself off the wall.”

Ruby was about to say something when she realized that Weiss now donned a playful smirk on her face. The artist’s eyes went wide when she felt them both move forward, or backwards in Weiss’s case.

“Wh-what’re you doing?” Ruby kept her legs still, too afraid to move them.

“I am going to teach you to skate.” Weiss said and winked, skating backwards and pulling Ruby along with her.

“I told you I know how. It’s just-“

“You’re not fooling me Ruby. I know you’re lying.” Ruby bit down on her lower lip at Weiss’s accusation.

She refused to say anything right now. Ruby did not want to admit she was lying, and she was sure Weiss knew that as well.

Ruby stiffened up as Weiss pulled them further away from the wall and to the center of the rink, “It would help if you moved your feet.”

“I’d rather not drop us both.” Ruby said in a shaky voice. She was becoming increasingly nervous as they got further away from the wall. Ruby wasn’t sure what she could do.

_She knows I’ve lying._

_And she knows I won’t admit to it._

_Why else would she be dragging me away from the wall?_

Weiss had skated to the center of the rink before letting Ruby go and skated around her with the grace of a professional. It was as if Weiss was testing her. Ruby felt her stomach sink as she now realized her current situation.

She had no support whatsoever. Ruby was at the mercy of the other girl who was now gliding along the ice around Ruby.

Ruby turned her head up when she realized what song was playing right now.

_‘When I was kissin’ on my baby_

_And she’d put her love down, soft and sweet_

_In the low lamp light, I was free’_

“Heaven and Hell were words to me.” Weiss sang loudly before humming along to the chorus.

Ruby was certainly surprised that Weiss was singing along. She tried to turn her body to look at Weiss and say something. But her foot slipped forward, almost causing her to fall back.

Ruby quickly held her arms out to keep herself balanced as she was reminded of her situation.

She looked up to see that Weiss still circling her. There was a look of amusement clear as day on the other girl’s face.

Ruby let out a huff and straightened herself up.

The other girl eventually stopped circling Ruby and was now near the gate, “Are you coming?”

Determined to not make a fool of herself, Ruby slowly slid her feet forward. She wasn’t moving at all and began to get frustrated at the smug look on Weiss’s face.

Little by little Ruby managed to inch herself forward. Whether it was sheer will or dumb luck, she was moving. Regardless of the fact that it was at the speed of a snail, she was making her way closer towards Weiss.

“See, I know hoo-AH!” About halfway there, Ruby’s cockiness got the better of her and her foot slipped. She fell down and stopped her fall with the palm of her hands.

Ruby winced slightly as her knees hit the ice hard and she heard the other girl gasp.

“Ruby?!” Weiss called out with concern in her voice, “Are you hurt?”

With shaky hands, she slowly got herself up onto her knees, “Just my pride, and my knee a little.”

“I’m so sorry. Come on, let me get you back to the wall.”

Ruby sat up on her knees as Weiss offered her hands to help her up. Ruby took her hand and slowly stood back up. She didn’t say anything as she was now stood close to Weiss, holding onto her elbows. Allowing Weiss to help her back up. She let Weiss guide them back towards the wall.

Weiss hadn’t moved because Ruby was holding tightly to her elbows.

“Ruby?”

The artist stared into the crystal blue eyes of the other girl, the music playing in the rink becoming muffled, the pain in her knee non-existent. The words leaving Weiss’s mouth weren’t reaching her ears. Everything sounded like white noise to her.

Ruby felt her heart flutter as she looked at the other girl. The same girl who she has opened up to the last few weeks.

The same girl who made her feel alive and safe.

The same girl that she was falling hard for.

This filled Ruby with fear.

She wasn’t sure what to make of tonight. Here she was, holding onto Weiss in an ice-rink that the other girl rented out just for them. Weiss bought her custom skates and rushed them for tonight. And there was music playing that Weiss requested based on music they both liked.

“Ruby?” Weiss said, bringing back her attention. The look on her face was honest, genuine, full og concern and something she couldn’t define. Not with words.

Ruby wanted to try something. To confirm how she felt.

She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and leaned forward. She cupped Weiss’s cheeks and locked eyes with her.

There was a look of confusion in the other girl’s eyes, but that didn’t stop Ruby as she closed her eyes to kiss Weiss softly. A small gasp escaped the lips of the other girl.

They had been affectionate with each other already, shared plenty of kisses and have been intimate in other ways.

But…

Something about this felt different. Ruby wasn’t sure if it was because of all the things Weiss did tonight just for them.

Ruby felt her head spin. Her stomach was doing somersaults, and her knees felt weak. There was this strange feeling in her chest that Ruby always felt whenever she was around Weiss.

Something she that she never thought she was capable of feeling.

But it became increasingly difficult to ignore whatever it was she felt.

What was she feeling anyways?

It wasn’t exactly lust. It felt like…

_Love._

It had to be. Ruby cared for Weiss.

She loved spending time with her. Ruby looked forward to anything they did together. She felt lonely when she wasn’t around Weiss. And it seemed like Weiss enjoyed their dates as well.

_But…_

_But this is just an arraignment for her…_

_What if Weiss doesn’t really like me?_

Ruby wanted to block out whatever feelings were in her head. But her mind just ran rampant with various scenarios about asking Weiss what they were.

_Are we only friends?_

_What if I ruin whatever is going on between us?_

Maybe Weiss didn’t feel the same way she did. She would probably laugh and tell Ruby how ridiculous her feelings were.

All this ate away at Ruby’s confidence as their kiss lingered.

Ruby slowly pulled away from the kiss, opening her eyes to look at the other girl. The look of shock on Weiss’s face didn’t make her feel any better.

There was an uncomfortable silence between them. And this only made Ruby more anxious because she didn’t know what to say.

“Ruby, why… why did you kiss me?” The tone in her voice made Ruby’s heart sink. It made Ruby feel like she did something wrong by kissing her. Like she wasn’t supposed to do that right now.

_What do I say?_

_Dust, this was stupid of me._

_Of course, she didn’t feel the same I do._

_Why would she?_

“I just um… I wanted…. Weiss I…” Her words fell short for a few moments before she took a deep breath.

Weiss would not want a real relationship. This was just a business arraignment for the other girl.

 Ruby felt herself begin to shake, not because of the cold, but because of the overwhelming negative feelings taking over her thoughts.

Tears slowly fell down Ruby’s eyes as she let go of Weiss, “I don’t know if I want to do this anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to mention super quick that the song used here is called Work Song by Hozier. Thank you all so much for reading and for your support!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed it so far. As always, Kudos and feedback is always appreciated.


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